


A cruel kind of agony

by TFALokiwriter



Category: Lost in Space (1998), Lost in Space (TV 1965)
Genre: Aliens, Dark fic, F/M, Family, Foreshadowing, Heartbreaking, Hope, Hurt, In a way, Jupiter 2, Littered with LiS TOS references, Loss, Pain, Parallels, Sad, Thoroughly researched wounds, Transformation, Unhappy, Vulnerability, mutant bug bite, mutating, post major character death, uncomfortable Smith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-25 06:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 47,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13828641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TFALokiwriter/pseuds/TFALokiwriter
Summary: A doctor walks into a bar and the nearby intergalactic police officer says, "You're dead." This same doctor - who was having none of it - merely replied,"Nice words for a dead man."





	1. Chapter 1

The embedded cut made by the strange alien spiders was on the right side of his back. Smith was in personal agony. Undergoing a transformation from human to something else, something deadlier, and sinister. He didn't need to be told by the Robinsons what had happened. His mind had ran through a single scenario that lead his future self to this point. He had killed Penny, Judy, and Maureen then manipulated the boy into making a time traveling device. What for was to save his living skin rather than being glued to the ship. Given what he had become, it had become off the table. Not a option. Blarp was the most creepy monkey that Smith had ever seen  and perhaps the most terrifying. The monkey could blend anywhere with given success. And the larger pregnant Blarp had delivered another Blarp. Blarp Junior was as terrifying as its mother. The mother wasn't as terrifying as the little one, that Smith could admit to, while he observed the large one placing a suction cupped finger onto his head.

The older Blarp had a concerned look among its beautiful, gorgeous features.

"I'm sorry, madame," Smith apologized. "where I am going. . ." he sighed. "You can't go with."

"Pretty man," Blarp said.

"Yes, yes, yes," Smith said. "I used to be pretty. . wasn't I?"

The older Blarp tilted its head.

"Point is, I am not going to be beautiful," Smith lifted the gorilla's finger off his head. "and I don't want the Robinson's to see it," he placed his hand onto his hip. "So the next space station that we cross or planet for that matter. I am. . . I am leaving."

The older Blarp tapped on the top of his head.

"Smart man," the older Blarp said.

"If I stayed, I would have killed them," Smith said. "There is no cure aboard this ship," he looked down. "I can't throw myself into the sun because they would confine me and then leave me be in the wretched room." he looked up toward the Gorilla like being. "I am not going to let the children see my transformation into a real monster."

"You're not a monster," came the Robot behind him.  "Not now, at least."

Smith sighed then closed his eyes.

"Shut it, you bubble-headed booby, " Smith said.

"Doctor Smith, you have more chances of getting cured than before," the Robot said.

"I think not," Smith said. "Previous stops indicate I am a first."

"But if that is what you want, not to repeat history. . ." The Robot said. "I will stand aside."

"For the sake of the Robinsons," Smith said.

"For their sake," the Robot said, ominously. There was a pause as the robots head whirred. "I missed seeing you."

"Which me?" Smith asked, turning toward the Robot.

"That face," the Robot said.

"Human face," Smith said, rubbing along his chin. "Not going to have it much long."

"It happened over decades," the Robot said. "You had dysphoria, angst, and you tried to take your life in the beginning."

"But Will stopped me," Smith said.

"No, Doctor Smith," the Robot said.  "I did."

"Why would someone like you be interested in stopping my counterpart?" Smith asked.

"He needed a parent," the Robot said.

"A backstabbing parent?" Smith asked.

"You were the only one around," the Robot said.

"AFTER I KILLED THEM?" Smith shouted. "Those poor women were there."

"Will Robinson required the hands of someone to teach him things I didn't know at the time," the  Robot said.

"You should have let me done it," Smith said, his hands trembling in fists. "You are the worst navigational, recreational, cylon, substitute worker, and parent I met!" he shook his finger at the taller machine. "You are a _ninny_!"

"I was not programmed to parent," the Robot said.

"You have become a person, Robot," Smith said. "Didn't you ever stop to think of that?"

"I am a Robot," the Robot said.

"You helped them escape," Smith said, approaching the Robot with his hands clasped behind his back. "That is the difference between a robot and a non-sapient robot."

The robot's head bobbed down.

"I see. . ." the Robot said.

"Be a better friend to them than I was to them," Smith said.

The Robot's head bobbed back up.

"I will, Doctor Smith," the Robot said. "I can't help but believe you'll be missed."

"I hardly think so," Smith said. "A stowaway will hardly be missed."

"Stowaways have records of being remembered," the Robot said.

"I don't belong with humans anymore and you know that," Smith said. "The professor, the major, and William know that." Smith nodded to himself. "It's only a matter of time when I do it."

Smith walked past the Robot with a depressed walk.

"Sad man," the older Blarp said, as the little new Blarp Junior was wrapped around its forearm.

"A dead man walking," the Robot said, as the little Blarp jumped on to its head. "Danger, danger!" he waved his long arms in the air rolling from side to side. "Alien monkey is on my head!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Cool!" Will said.

"A space station?" Penny said. "How great. Maybe they have chocolate, popcorn, oh, oh, oh, oh, maybe they have banana saplings."

"One thing at a time," John said. "We need currency that they accept."

Smith poked his head from behind the Robot.

"Is it safe?" Smith asked, cowering.

Don rolled his eyes then yanked the doctor from behind the robot.

"This is a space station," Don said. "You should act like a professional."

"Oh, and get scratched again by another insect?" Smith asked. "I hardly see the reason why I was forced to come along." He folded his arms.

"Because we don't trust a stowaway to stay on the ship," John said. "Alpha Prime is our destination and nothing is going to stop us."

"Except getting supplies," Smith said.

"Badum tush," Penny said, mockingly.

"Penny," Maureen said.

"You should get a drum set for dramatic effect," Penny said.

"Actually," Smith said. "That is not a bad idea."

"Rebellious Smith is something I didn't think I would see," Don said, as Smith walked off.

"Will, Robot, make sure he doesn't try to steal!" John said.

Smith looked over in the direction of the Robinsons for one last time.

Don was grinning with one arm wrapped on Judy's shoulder. Maureen was looking at the glowing screen with curiosity tapping on her chin. Blarp, the prime one, was on Penny's shoulder but very visible. The Robots head whirred toward Smith as everyone was distracted with each other. Smith nodded then strolled away into the large crowd. He took off the jacket then placed it onto the nearby chair taking a quick abrupt turn from where he had been going. Smith ducked into a building then stepped aside waiting to see if the Robot and Will didn't follow. Sure enough he saw them pass by with Will calling for him. It wasn't as painful exiting their lives as one would think. It was the easiest mission that he had done. It was for them, after all. They didn't deserve to be living around a monster.

"Oh, a volunteer?" came a deep, yet scary voice.

Smith turned toward the source of the voice.

"Browsing customer, you twat," Smith said, glaring toward the tall being with tusks coming out of his mouth and covered in golden tattoos contrasting against the light blue skin.

The tall being leaned forward in the direction of Smith.

"You'll do," he took a strange cigarette device from his voice. "I am testing something.  Could help you and then it might not."

"How may it help me?" Smith asked.

"Whatever problems you have, it'll be gone," the strange man put a large device onto the table then propped it.

"All of my problems?" Smith asked.

"All of them," the strange individual turned toward Smith. "They don't call me the problem solver for nothing. . . Mr?"

"Doctor Smith," Smith said. "Zachary Smith."

"Doctor Smith, hmm," the stranger puffed a ring of smoke out as his eyes glowed. "I have heard of you."

"Oh, how could you have heard of me?"  Smith asked, feeling deeply concerned. His cowardly half screamed to run out and risk rejoining the Robinsons. But he reminded himself, that he was doing it for them. Much as he love to stay and find a way home, he didn't have the luxury of time on his side. He was pressed against the wall staying out of the way. "I haven't been running around out of the Jupiter."

"There are stories of a family being lost in space with a stowaway. A family still thriving after a month in space. Sort of inspiring for space hippies," the tall man waved the gray device then put it into his mouth. "and for people who want to live in space rather than planet side. Tales of you saving the Robinsons is widespread. You're making a new business come out."

"No, no, no, I didn't save them," Smith shook his hands. "They saved themselves."

"I find that hard to believe from a family of scientists," the strange blue man straightened the device on the counter. 

Smith ducked in the nick of time as the Robot and Will walked past.

"Scientists have the backing of logic," Smith said, in a lowered voice. The tall blue man knelt down to the human. "I have been mulling about as a coward." the tall blue man puffed smoke into Smith's face. Smith waved the smoke out of his way. "Could you please mind your smoking?"

"Just wanted to make sure you're actually the Doctor Smith," he put the device back into his mouth. "You really have a problem," he stood up to his feet. "I can fix that."

"Deadly or leaving me alive?" Smith asked.

"Leaving you to tell the tale," the blue man turned away going into the back end of the shop. "Doctor."

Smith stood up to his feet then followed the strange alien. Smith rubbed his fingers looking over his shoulder. His back itched like hell. If he itched it just a little more it might make the transforming infection spread throughout his body more than it had in recent weeks. It now covered ten percent of his back. Lying on his side became a necessity to prevent himself from rubbing his back against the floor repeatedly. Smith looked around at the collection that the fixer upper had. The alien came went through a oddly shaped  doorway. Smith came into the room tagging along. Smith looked around in awe at lantern like objects that were glowing inside with translucent tubes connecting all over the place. It was like a tree that connected everywhere starting from the base.

"What a beautiful creation," Smith said.

"Thank you," the strange blue alien said, distantly.

"You are a scientist," Smith remarked.

"Uh huh," came the reply.

"What question brought you here?" Smith asked, looking around in awe.

"How do I power my shop without paying taxes," earned a chuckle from Smith.

"They must be high," Smith commented.

"Higher than yours," the strange blue alien said.  "Over here, Doctor Smith."

Smith came over toward the blue-golden alien man.

"What is that?" Smith asked, gesturing toward the screen that showed a CGI barrier.

"A form of multiphastic barrier only its between universes," the strange blue alien said. "It is weakest in this bar here." he pointed on the screen then tapped on it lightly. "I need data on whether or not it is any different than this one," he picked up a wrist brace that had circular buttons to to it all around. It reminded Smith of the bracelets back on Earth. "If I can bring a person from here to there with a full bill of health then this will prove to the science community that it is safe."

"Safe," Smith shuddered. "Safe for who?"

"Visitors," the strange blue alien said, looking over. "you may even be able to return."

"What if my infliction returns?" Smith asked.

"You personality will remain the same, Doctor Smith," the strange blue alien said.

"Not that," Smith said. "my bug cut."

"I am certain it will not," the strange blue alien said. "You will be a free man."

"I hope so," Smith said. "After I am free, perhaps . .  . I will seek a way to go home. No matter how destructive it is to itself." He grimaced. "And be taken in for espionage. It's better than being out in space."

"If you say so,"  the blue alien handed the wrist brace to Smith. "This will be your ticket back. It can be used only two times."

"Why two?" Smith asked, holding the wrist brace. He looked up toward the blue alien. "Why not ten?"

"Staying somewhere you do not belong is not wise," the blue alien said. "everything might be too different there. If there's another you alive and well, you'll know instantly and you will have to leave immediately. Status quo will try to kill you or send you back home. That's what I call it at least." the blue alien shrugged, his lip piercing sticking out. "Everyone calls it karma."

The blue alien typed onto the computer and then the wrist brace became tight on Smith's wrist. Smith stared at the screen that showed where he was and where he had to go, willingly. Smith looked up toward the individual with skepticism. The blue alien wore a reassuring, confident face giving him the thumbs up. Smith forced a smile returning the gesture. Apparently thumbs up was a universal gesture. It was a shame that Smith might not be able to see more of this facility in its entirety. It was a marvelous piece of science. The blue alien turned away with Smith in tow.  Smith was escorted to the doorway of the store then given a wave.

"How do I know it will let me in?" Smith asked.

"When it glows green," the blue alien said

"And red?" Smith inquired.

"You're a dead man," the blue alien said.

" _I am_ a dead man!"  Smith replied.

"No, you're not," the blue alien said.

"Why can't everything be simple? I hate complications." Smith grumbled then looked at his memory of the map.

Smith made his way down the crowded street looking around warily for the Robinsons. He wished them luck getting to Alpha Prime but he feared it was a lost cause. It was the ark of the covenant to Alpha Prime. A planet that would never be reached. They would be searching for it until their dying day. Smith picked out a colorful black vest that had pockets from a hangar and a purple shirt without paying. He changed into the long sleeved undershirt in a place that cameras could not spot him.  He tossed aside the dark gray shirt to the ground as he buttoned up the vest. Black and purple went well together in his experience. He dropped Jupiter 2 equipment onto tables purposely to be found on later inspections. Smith speed walked his way to the bar that had a neon pink sign that read as clear as day 'SMYTH'S BAR'. Smith looked up in shock  then shook his head.

"Doctor Smith!" West called.

Smith didn't turn around as he went through the doorway.

The bracelet's rounded additions glowed green as he went inside.

"Come back here, you little shit!" West ran into the bar then came to a stop when he couldn't see the man.

West looked around searching for the doctor high and low with his eyes trained for the man.

"Don," Judy said, coming to his side. "Let him go."

"I would when I know he is not up to no good," West said. "He is not in here."

"I don't see him," Judy said. "Like he never went at all."

"Whoever has him is going to be wishing they never heard of him," West said. "Good luck on them."

"Dad is not going to like this," Judy said worringly.

"Trust me, Judy," West said, with a smile toward the woman. "He will. Not our problem anymore."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God damn it, I didn't expect to post the first two chapters so soon. Really, I didn't. I didn't expect to hit that pesky post button. I swear, this story had to come out. I REALLY SWEAR IT DID. I think it has a message or some point in it. I had to skip my way to see Smith's injury to be sure of what I was writing.

Smith landed on his feet then scrambled up looking back and anticipated the arrival of the major. He never came in. Smith pressed himself against the wall with a pant. He had done it. He had done it. He sighed in relief, lowering his head. A safety hazard had successfully made the escape. They never were going to be able to thank him later. He heard a commotion from afar. Smith looked up to see colorful lights. People in strange clothes, far unique alien individuals, and there were dancing women on the tables. There were two men who stood out at a bar sharing drinks and clean shaven. They looked strangely familiar. Who ever they were, they were better off. Smith tried to take the wrist brace off only to find it wouldn't budge. A fine piece of science was attached to him and he couldn't remove it.

~~How annoying.~~

How insanely clever to give him the option of going back.

Almost wish it had been him who had invented the device.

Smith looked over to see a young red head bolting into the room.

"Dad!" the young boy came to the man. "DAD, DAD, DAD!"

Smith counted his blessings to have pulled it off.

Speaking of pulling off: He had to find a mirror, and now.

He surveyed the scene as a young woman in a bright colorful dress came in slamming the door open on him making Smith bolt toward the nearest exit. He had gone used to fleeing when a door aggressively shut on him. He came into the bathroom then turned around. He lifted the shirt and the vest up looking over while carefully holding it up. The young man from inside entered the room then went over to one of the stalls. Smith stopped raising the two pieces as he stared at his injury. Smith wanted to fall and never wake up. He slid his outfit down then turned around and looked down toward the sink. He turned one of the circular items and water poured out. He splashed water onto his face multiple times as a tall man came to his side.

"Hey, something wrong?"

Smith shook his head with his hands on the side of the sink.

"This is a wretched existence of hell and agony," Smith replied.

"So what's up with the back?" came the inquiring question.

Smith smacked the man's hand before it could reach to the back.

"Don't you touch it!" Smith snapped. "My back is delicate."

"I knew someone who used that excuse a lot," the man replied.

"My pain is real," Smith said, in a sad like manner.

"Sorry if I insinuated otherwise," the man apologized.

"Oh how I could I have used the excuse," The strange blue scientist made a promise. A promise that was unable to be kept. It felt like he had been snatched of asking first if there was a way to die on the mission. He could have asked but he got what he wanted. Far away from the Robinsons. He looked toward the mirror. "Oh, the pain. . .  the horrid _pain_."

Smith straightened himself up.

"Where do you get colorful shirts like that?" the man asked.

"I got it from a hangar," Smith replied. "Madigan street, Madowski street. Right by the accessories station."

"So that is what they are selling," the man said. "Could use some new shirts."

"You might just like them," Smith said, looking over toward the man in a green shirt with shoulder bands that were in three colors. Smith looked over from the man shaking his head. "They are comfortable."

Smith let go of the sink then turned off the water. The man was cleaning his hands as Smith made a slow walk toward the door. Smith remembered the non-human face that he had been unfortunate to see. A face that he prayed that he would never again see. He opened the door leading into the hallway. He looked over to see the strange blue man with the golden markings on him approaching the man still talking to the red head. Smith dug his feet in, his anger rising at the lying, backstabbing scientist. By the looks of it, he was in uniform taking out a long white item with two restraints. The other man came out to see Smith speedwalking toward the strange blue individual.

Laws could be different regarding assaulting intergalactic police officers.

Smith didn't care, he was here to give him a punch to the face and kick him after falling.

Long as he got the variation of a death penalty then everything was good by the man's book.

"Hello, good fellow," Smith said. "Do you happen to like science?"

The tall, blue-golden man with tusks turned toward the man.

"Yes," the strange blue man said. "I do."

"And do you have irritation with the science community?" Smith asked, as the white cuffs were lowered.

The man and child were puzzled by the abrupt interruption.

"Yes," the strange blue man said.

Smith looked over toward the two humans with a smile.

"You might want to run," Smith then turned his attention onto the strange blue man then delivered a sharp punch to the face. He turned toward them briefly. "Quickly."

The man was taller than the other man about three inches as he stood up then grabbed the shoulder of the red head. Smith was seemingly surrounded by giants in comparison to the Robinsons. The three colorfully dressed humans fled out of the bar. Smith ducked a punch from the intergalactic police officer then guzzled down a glass holding a finger up at the officer. Smith dropped the glass then delivered a kick spin knocking down the intergalactic police officer to his knees. The intergalactic officer took out a long, gray stick. Smith picked up a chair using it as his shield as everyone held their breath staying out of the way. Smith eyed the intergalactic police officer then over toward that was set behind him then to the other tables. 

"Give it up," the intergalactic police officer said.

"You should say that," Smith said.

"I have the Intergalactic authority here and no one is willing to risk punishment," the intergalactic police officer said

"Except I, apparently," Smith said.

"Drop the chair," the intergalactic police officer requested.

"Why?" Smith asked, innocently.

"So I can cuff you," the intergalactic police officer said.

"No," Smith said.

"Drop the chair," the intergalactic police officer said.

"Why should I when you can shoot me?" he shook his head. "That is not how you treat a criminal."

"Just drop it!" the intergalactic police officer said.

"Now, is this a fair fight, sir?" Smith asked.

"No," the intergalactic police officer said.

"This is how I feel when I have the advantage," Smith snickered then jumped onto a nearby chair then smacked the head of the intergalactic police officer sending him falling to the ground.

Smith put the object down with his anger gone. He dusted his hands off walking around the body. The shorter man that he had seen in the mens room was set in the middle of the hall with a shocked look on his face. Smith checked for a pulse on the side of the neck. Smith sighed, relieved. He looked down to see a small screen that indicated how it worked. Smith scanned the holographic screen as he stood up resisting the urge to scratch his back. It seemed that the way he entered this universe was the only way back to his universe. All of the rounded additions were transparent. Smith looked over in the direction of the other door and bolted. Bars were not the kind of place he liked to be caught in.  When Smith opened the door, he saw a familiar hunk of machinery with black accordion like arms that had red claws attached.

"You bubble-headed booby!" Smith said. Heated, crimson anger were in those words. "You said you would step aside for them!" It was a long moment before the Robot responded.

The grill glowed.

"Doctor. . . Doctor Smith?" the Robot asked, raising its head up in shock. "This does not compute. This does not compute."

Smith ran out of the doorway speeding by the Robot that turned in his direction.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE MORE CHAPTER FOR TODAY JUST TO GET RID OF THE STEAM THEN TO QUICKLY WRITING A CHAPTER TO MY ANDROMEDA FIC FOR LAGGING ON PURPOSE. This is the entire reason why I wrote this fic.

Smith was kept in a white cell with other criminals that wore gray and red two piece uniforms.  Smith, however, was not in the same kind. The authorities acted as though they had crossed with paths with him before as he cowered. Calling him by 273 rather than calling him a John Doe. He had no idea why they called him a number. Perhaps he was not used to the way things were ran in the Intergalactic Judicial system. He didn't know and he didn't like to know. Having to explain why he attacked a officer would be a difficult thing to explain in the first place. He sat in a chair with his hands cupped together and his eyes closed in a state of rest.

"756498273, you have a visitor."

Smith stood up then two intergalactic officers appeared into the room.

"It sounds like my counterpart must have been up to no good," Smith said. "that pleases me."

The forcefield lowered as he carefully got himself up to his feet then made his way toward the group.

"This is a new shirt," Smith said. "Please don't roughen it up."

"We rough up whatever we like to," came the sneering reply.

"Hm, then we on equal footing," Smith replied.

* * *

The room was simple and colorful. There were several tables where convicts were speaking with others of different species. Smith shuddered at the red and green woman with fangs sticking up from her mouth staring at him. It brought up a bad memory of a individual who attempted to take over the Jupiter 2 with him on it and intimidating him. They were too loud. And so, Smith had to be the one to take the heist into a downward spiral. The Jupiter 2 would have been lost had it not for him. And people like her looked uglier from his universe. He looked over toward the woman then shuddered again.  He looked over to see the two men from earlier were sitting at the same table. Oh dear, he attracted attention to him.

"Hello," came the taller man.

"Have you ever faced a heist by a pig," Smith asked.

"I had a prison sentence with one," the shorter man said. "regeneratable."

"I can't say I have," the taller man said.

"Good, don't let them aboard," Smith said. "Good guarentee they are a space pirate."

"Why did you come in and stop my arrest?" The taller man asked.

"You didn't seem the type to be arrested," Smit remarked.

"Don't evade the question, 273," the shorter man said, in a mildly teasing manner.

"Well," Smith shrugged. "I don't remember doing that."

"I saw you do it," the taller man said.

"Did I?" Smith asked, raising a eyebrow.

"Yes," the taller man said. "With my own two eyes."

"And mine," the shorter man said.

"I have been in here for three days," Smith said. "The most hospitality I have ever been shown in my career. Well, the Millennial wars were harsh," the two men had baffled looks. "I am not from this universe."

"I figured that much," the taller man said. "Why did you leave it?"

"It started a month ago," Smith started. "My employer stranded me aboard a vessel I had purposely sabotaged. It was the most advanced vessel made that survived terrorist attacks to prevent it from going off. They called it the Jupiter 2," he didn't notice the grins that grew on the men's faces. "It was for the sake of Alpha Prime. What we did to Earth," he closed his eyes. "History would repeat itself." he closed his eyes. "got a nasty hand scar because of it." he held his palm up showing a unique trail of scars. "And then I had the luxury of being lost in space with a bunch of colonists," Smith started to laugh at himself rubbing his forehead. "The Robinsons, oh dear. I am glad I don't need to be there anymore."

"What makes you say that?" the shorter man asked, his demeanor returned to serious.

"Because I am a monster, turning into one anyway, and there is no cure for it," Smith said.

"Not when you have the power for it," the shorter man said.

"No, that is not what I mean," Smith said.

"Then what do you mean?" the taller man asked.

"They came aboard this vessel with a Hydroponics that was a forest. A beautiful one. Enough sustenance to sustain a entire colony," Smith said. "Which is where we came across Blarp. There was only one of its kind there and that was Blarp. A baby alien gorilla. I think it is able to reproduce asexually or there is some kind of complications," he shook his head. "It's a mystery how I was able to save the mother and the baby. That came after our departure from the exploding planet."

"Exploding planet," the shorter man said.

"Yes," Smith said.

"Was there a miner mining for Cosmodium down there?" the shorter man said.

"That's not a element," Smith said.

"Actually, it is," the taller man said.

"Really?" Smith asked. He noticed the men clenching their hands onto the table.

"It gives planets life," the taller man said. "Anything, really."

"Anyway, Professor Robinson dragged me along," he shook his head in disgust. "He could have left me behind in the room that I was kept in. What a idiot. I wasn't necessary but no,  they didn't trust me in a room with remotely nothing to sabotage. The children and wife were on the bridge far away from me. Nothing I could possibly do from where I was kept," he rolled his eyes, with his arms folded. "Oh, the tragedy of not doing the right thing." The taller man was contemplating that when the shorter man faked a cough.

"What happened after the hydroponics?" the taller man asked.

"We were attacked by insects.  Spider like insects," Smith said. "The starcharts were uploaded to the Jupiter 2 before our departure. We lost our advanced version of the robot trying to kill the spiders. As the doors closed, one of the spiders legs leaped at me!" he bolted forward holding his hands out surprising the two men. He leaned back, cupping his hands together onto the table, as the guards eyed him suspiciously. "It seemed like time was going slower. As though I was going to die there in the middle of those dysfunctional family. A father who hardly pays attention to his son, a daughter who is in her goth stage, and I hate my universe more than you ever know," he shook his hands. His hands were trembling. "If you have seen half of what I have seen you would understand."

"We would," the taller man said. "If I were a busy father, I still would have found time for my family."

"Fortunately, I am never going to be a father," Smith said. "Count myself blessed for being sterile."

"Fatherhood comes in different ways," the shorter man said. "Like adoption."

"My partner put that on the table before I left," Smith said.

"You had a partner?" the taller man asked, as though he were shocked.

"Anyway, I was stabbed in my back by the pesky leg. We destroyed the enemy ship, crash landed on a planet, found several time bubbles. The professor and the major went in, only after having a fist fight regarding command," the two men burst out laughing, "and Mrs Robinson had to shove them apart. That madame deserved a better universe for her. Such a good cook, a good mother, and a very good leader when the men were away." the two went silent while listening in. "William and I went on to see what was going on. I  rested along the way because my back is delicate, you see, and-- and---and. . ." Smith came to a stop closing his eyes at the haunting, disturbing memory. The fog drifting in the scenery. The dead like trees looming over. The voice that was speaking but never there.

"You can stop if you want," the taller man said

"I found their graves. The women's graves. I can distinctively remember Penny's voice from her video diary dangling from the . . " Smith took a emotional deep breath then exhaled. "I didn't let that dear child see it." he shook his head. "I didn't tell him but I suppose he found out for himself while I was out. I was tossed by my future me down a hole. We came to the future Jupiter 2. Older and perhaps more advanced. I took the gun and did my usual charade to going home. Only then was I. . ."

"Were you what?" The taller man asked.

Smith had a long look toward him.

"Have you ever seen yourself as a monster?" Smith asked.

The taller man shook his head.

"Not really," the taller man said.

Smith brought over a pen then sketched out himself rather quickly.

"This what I become if I do not die," Smith said, sliding it forward. "Afterwards, I seeked for ways to cure my ailment."

"And?" the shorter man asked, looking up.

"Incurable," Smith said.

The taller man looked disturbed.

"That doesn't look like a man," the taller man said.

"Professor Robinson had the opportunity to kill it," Smith said. "So a month later, I came to a space station. A robot colleague of mine had promised me to stay out of the way. To let me go, so to speak, to guarantee their safety. I did not want to transform in front of the children, you see?"

"I would have done that too," the taller man said.

"I took a risk to escape that could possibly remove the threat," Smith said. "I succeed, somewhat, but with my curse."

"Which is why you punched a Intergalactic police officer," the shorter man said.

"Yes," Smith said, with a nod.

The two men exchanged a knowing glance then back toward him.

"I never thought of you as a bold man, Doctor Smith," the taller man said. 

The color drained from his face.

"You happened to stop the officer from making a wrong arrest," came the shorter man.  "Turns out there were bad paperwork. A doppleganger was walking around with the Professor's face, can you believe that?" It occurred to Smith the shorter man was Don. Only a little bit more likable at best. "They mixed him up."

"I'm doomed," Smith placed his head onto his hands. "I didn't feel there was another me."

"That is because he died saving us," John, the taller one, said.

Smith looked up toward the two men.

"Was it bugs?" Smith said.

"No. It was getting us out of a bad situation," John said. "Namely Will."

"Which bad situation?" Smith said. "That child likes to go out and find danger."

"I share the same feeling," came the laugh. "Which mostly applied to you."

"We buried him the same day you came in," Don said.

Smith was about to reach back and scratch himself but he yanked his hand back.

"Don't interfere," Smith said. "Please," briefly reaching his hand out to John's forearm but Smith yanked it back mid way. "Let me die."

"We owe you a hundred times over," John said. "We're not losing hope."

"You did," Smith said. "You and Mrs Robinson had a discussion about it. You thought I wasn't there, I was there in the ceiling keeping a watch out for the invasive plants. I truly did not intend to overhear and did not want to hear perhaps the most hopeful man say that."

"We wouldn't have that kind of discussion aboard the Jupiter 2," John said.

"Technology is not my friend," Smith said.  "Do you and your family a favor and spare becoming attached to your dear friend Smith's counterpart."

"You know, every time you speak, I see him all over you," Don said. "yet, younger."

"Wars tend to make people climb the ranks faster, Major," Smith said.


	5. Chapter 5

The Robinsons were gathered at a table. The children were seated side by side at the long side. There was a notable gap in the group as though there was one of them missing. Will was holding onto his hands and rubbed his thumb against his left hand. Behind the empty chair rested the Robot. The children wore concerned looks on their faces. Maureen held onto Judy's hand.

"Just what we suspected, it is Doctor Smith," John said.

"Didn't we bury him?" Maureen asked.

"We had," John said. "Our version, at least."

"Why did he leave?" Judy asked, as Penny was processing it. "Surely they welcomed him."

"He has a death sentence on him," John said. "He's turning into a monster."

"A monster," Will said. "I bet it is not scary as the monsters we faced."

"It is," John said, slipping forth the piece of paper to the boy. "That's why he left."

Will looked up from the sinister, scary looking image sliding it over toward his siblings.

"He doesn't look that much scary," Will said. "he looks sublime."

"Oh my---" Judy slid it toward Penny. "No wonder he left."

"Unlike our Smith, he has more of a backbone," John said, as Penny slid it to Maureen.

"I miss our cowardly Doctor Smith," Maureen said. 

"Me too," Will said.

"Me three," Judy agreed.

"He can never be replaced," Don said, as Maureen slid to Judy. Judy did not look as she slid the paper over to Don. "the least we can do is plead for a pardon because he is facing a death sentence already."

"He wants it," the Robot said. "Let him. If he is doing it for the Robinsons then I am sure our cowardly Smith would have done the same."

"I am unsure if our Smith had that much of a backbone. . . But, keeping his plans from us?" John said. "That would have been Doctor Smith of him to do that."

"But he can't be Doctor Smith," Penny said. "he is not exactly the kind to punch in open public."

The Robot's head bobbed up.

"Only Doctor Smith calls me bubble-headed booby!" the Robot insisted.  "That big sack of poop," the Robot's head whirred. "what a lying lump. To think I praised him at his funeral," John and Don slowly started to laugh in return as the grill glowed. "Praised him!"

The Robinsons erupted into laughter at the Robot's comment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited John's comment about what Smith would do, for any one who bothers rereading this story or reading this for the first time, it was "I am unsure if he had that much of a back bone and kept it back from us. Now that's something Doctor Smith would do" in a nutshell.


	6. Chapter 6

Will looked at the space pod tracing along the metal on a alien planet. He looked over to the side, the familiar colors of the USA flag still there. The USA remaining bold as the metal. The J-2A remained useful and incredibly relevant to the Robinsons. Will remembered the final trip that Smith had taken. The damned registry, 277-2211-1A, remained bright. The rest of the Robinsons were held within a dome looking on as Doctor Smith observed the scene. The Robot was manning the Jupiter 2 while Smith went gone down the stairs leaving the door open behind him. Smith approached the dome unaware the Robinsons were right in front of him then turned around to face the captor. The two individuals speaking but words could not be heard from Smith. Smith, who normally screamed, cried for help, and ran away at the sign of danger stood in the face of it while tapping his fingers together.

"Will," a voice jerked him out of thought.

Will turned toward the source of the voice.

"Hey, Don," Will said.

"I know you are feeling guilty about it," Don said.

"Had I not been trying to get my new shoes out it then Doctor Smith would still be alive," Will lamented.

"With the way he was going, it was bound to happen. . . one way or another," Don said. "That cowardly act could have gotten him killed."

"He did die a couple of times," Will said.

"And he miraculously came  back," Don said. "Had a couple tricks up his sleeves." Don had a fond smile at the memories.

"I don't think he would have left without making a goodbye," Will said.

"Sometimes people make hard choices, Will," Don said. "if he talked to you then he would have never left."

"Really?" Will asked.

"Time and time again when you put your neck out for him, he came to your rescue," Don said. "Remember last week how he came out complaining about his bed?"

"Yeah, it broke," Will said. "stuck in the wall."

"More like glitched," Don said. Will looked over toward Don and Don winked back. 

"No," Will shook his head. "you didn't."

"I was curious when he would start accusing everyone. Doctor  Smith is a very entertaining man, you haven't noticed," Don said. "I never got to see it as Ship 362 connected to the Jupiter 2."

"I remember," Will said, looking toward the pod. "Doctor Smith was the first one out."

"Smith crashed on a bed in one of their rooms while we were updating our starcharts in accordance to what they had gathered," Don said. "They had a course for Earth, enough fuel for the trip, and he decided to stay with them. I am not ashamed to say it didn't break my heart. It relieved me, because for a moment there, I believed he was going back to Earth and never again be in trouble."

"He would be in big trouble, anyway," Will said. "He would have been court martialed."

"Yes, yes," Don said. "but he would have been happy."

Don looked toward the shuttle pod.

"I tried convincing him to come back," Will said. "because something wasn't right. Not that it would be boring and uneventful without him," he had a emotional sigh. "I-I-I-I. . . I would have missed him."

"You couldn't let him go with shady people,"  Don said.

"I didn't mean to bring Penny along," Will said. "She wasn't supposed to come with."

"And nor was the Robot," Don said. "He obeyed my orders to make sure you are okay."

"We were okay in the end," Will said. "It's not fair how he won't have a trial that we can attend. And that he doesn't have a defense attorney," Don placed a hand onto Will's shoulder. "He might not be _our_ Doctor Smith but it is a unfair trial."

"The Intergalactic Judicial System is figuring that part out," Don said. "There's nothing we can do for him."

"And maybe visit him in that hot quadrant?" Will asked. "I don't want to watch him die again."

"He won't die because of you, Will," Don assured him.

"It feels like that way," Will said.

"You had nothing to do that," Don said. Will looked over toward Don. "I am sure of it.  He said so himself."

"Did he lie?" Will asked.

"Not yet, at least," Don said. "He may be a two timer just like Doctor Smith. I admit, I find it unsettling that he is admitting to the crimes then pretending he doesn't remember doing them," he shook his head placing his hands onto his hips. "Sneaky bastard."

"Then how were you sure that he is Doctor Smith?" Will asked.

"Let's just say, the beginning of his story lines up with ours," Don said, with a smile. "little differences, that is all. We can repay his counterpart for all the things that Doctor Smith brought to us. Adventures, getting to visit new places, and meeting strange humanoids."

Will nodded.

"I like the sounds of it," Will said. "Dad is making the letter isn't he?"

"Uh huh," Don said. "I think he is doing a good job at it."

"He always does a good job at it," Will looked toward Don with a smile.

The mood was bright and optimistic as they turned their attention onto the space pod.


	7. Chapter 7

John placed the communications device onto the hook.

"John?" Maureen asked, as she noticed the professor was visibly bothered. "What is it?"

"The Intergalactic Authorities are using him to 'bust something up'," John said. "Why didn't they ask in the first place? We would have gladly helped, and Smith to a fault," he placed a hand onto the back rest of the chair. "Perhaps that fatal adventure wouldn't have happened in the first place."

Maureen placed a hand onto John's shoulder.

"It would have happened afterwards," Maureen said, reassuringly.

"Yes, it would have," John said, in agreement.

"So what about the charges?" Maureen asked, taking her hand off his shoulder.

"They are considering everything," John said. "Starting from the evidence that they gathered regarding Smith's condition to the letter. They haven't replied about the charges, yet. Though, I think his help could get him pardoned on good behavior."

"You think that he won't get out of it alive," Maureen said.

"It's not hard to come down to that conclusion when he has security and time against him," John said.

"I think it's likely we'll cross paths with him again," Maureen said.

"Good chance of it," John said. "Smith tried running away from the Robinsons and instead walked right back."

"It makes me feel bad to think they barely miss him," Maureen said.

"Don't be, Maureen," John said, looking toward her. "They didn't know what they had." And squeezed her hand.


	8. Chapter 8

_Smith came out of the space pod then climbed down. He tapped his fingers together looking around, curiously, and warily. He walked forward looking from side to side scanning his surroundings walking further and further away from the space pod.  He came to a stop staring at thin air then turned around to face the oddly dressed humanoid who was draped in various shades of purple. She had a unique hair style that was curled and fashioned quite well making the tips being pointy at each side. Her bright skin stood out to him. She represented Lust, and therefore, he called her Lust rather than Bronius._

_"Happy now?" Lust asked, as Smith slowly approached with a murderous glare_

_"I am not happy, I am miserable," Smith replied. "The ship cannot run with a pilot."_

_"Oooh, you wanted to go to Earth," Lust said, approaching the man. "It's all you ever wanted."_

_"I used to," Smith said. "we are heading to Alpha Centauri. And that is where my next and final destination is."_

_"Oh,  poor, poor old man," Lust said. "You have stopped trying."_

_"Trying means my family dying," Smith replied._

_"And that booby?" Lust asked._

_"And the booby," Smith replied. "Stop reading my mind and let them go."_

_"What if I don't want to?" Lust asked._

_"There is a attractive woman behind you," Smith said._

_"Where!" Lust said, then turned away from Smith. "Hey, I didn't see her," she turned back. "Oh."_

_"You have a incentive to let them go and you go along with your petty, little life," Smith said, softly. Smith held a pistol in his hand ready to pull the trigger._

_"And what if the Robinsons see this?" Lust asked._

_"It doesn't matter," Smith said. "We will never see you again."_

_"You really love them," Lust said. "Willing to do anything."_

_"Are you willing to step aside and let them go?" Smith asked._

_"No," Lust said._

_Smith pressed the trigger hitting some kind of machinery behind Lust. Sparks erupted from behind the woman. Smith stepped aside then fired at the other shrubs that were lined together in rows. Lust was on the ground laid to her side. The side of her head was dripping with blood. The force field that kept the  Robinsons restricted lowered. Smith gestured the Robinsons to the space pod while keeping the pistol aimed at the unconscious woman._

_Lust's eyes opened._

_"Smith," John said. "Hide that pistol in your boot next time."_

_Smith looked over toward the professor then had a apologetic look._

_"Oh," Smith said. "Did the children see it?"_

_"No," John said._

_"Go," Smith said, sending him off._

_"My shoes!" Will said, his feet stuck between two tree roots. "It's stuck!"_

_Don tried to yank Will out only landing on his butt on the sand._

_"I will get it!" Smith said, coming to the child's side. "Major, go."_

_Don nodded then sped off toward the space pod joining the others._

_"I told you these boots would get you killed," Smith said, placing the pistol alongside him. "You should have picked your size."_

_"I like these boots," Will said, as Smith twisted and turned the boots. "They are not tight."_

_"Tight means it fits, William," Smith said._

_Smith looked toward the boots then toward the pistol._

_Lust slowly got up using the console as her support up to her feet. Smith shot the tree roots, quickly then helped the boy to his feet. Lust was balanced on her feet then aimed her fingers out. Smith looked over toward her then dropped the pistol to the ground with a scared scream. Will and Smith bolted. Smith was jogging by Will's side when Lust bent her fingers. Smith shoved Will forward moments before collapsing to the dirt landing on his side. Don took out the hidden pistol then fired at Lust. Lust screamed then vanished in a puff of purple smoke._

_"Doctor Smith!" Will shouted coming back to the grayed man's side._

_Will set the man on his back._

_"Wake up," Will said. "Bronius is gone," he shook the man's shoulder. "Doctor Smith?"_

_Don spoke into the communication device while he looked quite beaten himself as John came to Will's side followed by the women._

* * *

The Jupiter 2 landed to gather more deutronium on a nearby planet.

They had the hydroponic garden up and running. The women were tending to it making sure it was making the adjustments. It would take a weeks to gather enough fuel to keep them going. Will's hands were in his pocket while strolling away with the Robot close behind him. The lack of a certain doctor snoozing in his quarters was apparent. In the past three days without the doctor part of their family, things had become monotonous, boring, and repetitive. The party that they had decided to spend three days ago in his honor had spilled over from a grieving celebration to a 'There-is-a-Smith-a-foot' celebration. Don had fixed the glitch in Smith's bed with much reluctance. The Colonel uniform was still laid in the drawer not hanging in the closet.

Will sighed.

"Will Robinson, do you miss Doctor Smith?" the Robot said.

"Our Doctor Smith," Will said. "I really do. Sometimes I think I hear him and see him."

"I have not detected him since waiting in the back door," the Robot said.

"Science can't explain it," Will said.

"Science can," the Robot said. "ghosts leave energy behind."

"Really?" Will asked.

"For example, he is walking ahead of us to inspect a alien ship," the Robot said, as Will's eyes lit up.

Will looked ahead to see a familiar figure walking past a rock formation with grayed hair and a dark shirt.

"Doctor Smith!" Will lit up then ran after the figure. "Wait up!"

"Danger, Will Robinson!" the Robot said, rolling after Will.

The Robot overheard a familiar, cowardly scream then raced after the scene. The Robot rolled his way to the scene with speed. When he came to the scene, there was no trace of Will Robinson or the ship. It was as though no one was there. His sensors detected that were was no EMF lingering. It was as though the energy that he had detected for the past three days had finally subsided. The Robot scanned the scenery of  landmarks that appeared to have been changed. There were several bent trees, the shape of a rounded exterior embedded in the sand, and what seemed to be the shape of a platform.

The Robot's head bobbed up in shock.

"This does not compute, this does not compute, this does not compute!" the Robot said, then rolled away after the Robinsons.


	9. Chapter 9

Will regained consciousness inside a container then looked over that there were several other children in containers awaking up. They ranged in species starting from being orange and green with a pig like nose, a blue-ish green with a large head, a familiar two headed alien covered in plant life, and odd. Will stepped out of the pod looking around. A strange, broad man came from behind the consoles covered in what seemed to be rock. His eyes were pitch black with no light coming out. He had a large collection of rocks on the top of his head. He was in a strange uniform that fit his figure but it was orange and a dark shade of blue with a gray emblem on both shoulders. It was apparently a two piece outfit as there was a a zipper.

"Welcome, welcome, children. . ." came the man's unsettling greeting. "I am Shar'bog. This is your new home for the foreseeable future."

Will shook his head.

"No," Will said. "I want to go back to my folks."

"These are your 'folk's, child," Shar'bog said.

"I am Will Robinson of Planet Earth," Will said. "You are going to regret taking me."

"Will Robinson?  The shortest member of the Jupiter 2 party," Shar'bog said, approaching the child. He observed the child. "You are going into the harder labor."

"I won't!" Will said. "I want to go home."

Shar'bog's rocky eyebrows twitched.

"Did you not hear me?" Shar'bog asked. "This is your new home."

"Home is where my family is," Will said.

There was a loud slap.

Will fell to the dirty ground.

Will rubbed the side of his cheek looking up toward the alien like individual. Shar'bog counted the line of children by hand. The two headed mossed like child helped Will up to his feet. Will looked toward the slightly taller child in interested and familiarity. His mind jumping back to the moment in time back to the first planet they had landed on. Being held captive by a two headed tall creature forcing them to tend to the plants. The food was ediable and delicious but the alien plant could have done the task easily. Perhaps it was lazy as Doctor Smith had theorized while Will tended to it. Speaking of Doctor Smith, the  Robot had clearly said he hadn't felt his presence but he had observed the man walking ahead of them. Which didn't make sense in the slightest unless they had a machine capable of projecting what he wanted the most. All of a sudden, Will felt like he had been played like a fiddle. And very stupid.

The alien child spoke in a different language helping Will up to his feet.

"Thank you," Will said.

"These will be your translators for your co-workers," Shar'bog said, handing one to Will. Then gestured Will to put the neck brace on. Will obeyed then felt something pierce his skin that at first burned and then subsided. "You will be unable to escape but the only way to escape would be death. The lives you once knew are no more, you will be fed and clothed appropriately, you will work twelve hour days to mine raw materials from this cave complex," Will looked around hearing the sound of pickaxes striking repeatedly on rock. "Your housings are what you call handy downs. You are of twenty men power and you will use it as such."

Shar'bog strolled down the group of twenty.

"You will find people your way are plenty here," Shar'bog siad.

"What about people who are not our age?"  A giraffe like child asked.

"They have been disposed of," Shar'bog said. Children were terrified. "To a different mining complex, don't start crying or whining on me."

Two shorter rock like humanoids arrived.

"Escort them to their block, Sharris and K'tumie," Shar'bog said. "And try not to let them play you, _again_."

* * *

Will was shoved into a room with the giraffe like alien child. The alien child sat onto a bunk dangling their long legs on the edge with eyes cast down. Will flew himself over to the wall and felt around for a weakness in it. The alien child looked down depressingly toward him. He kicked at the wall with his boots multiple times. He walked back then smacked his shoulder against it with a cry. Will rubbed his shoulder walking around in a circle as a mass of tears came down his cheeks. He was terrified of what he had landed himself into. He should have not gone after the image of Smith  and instead stood there watching him vanish before his eyes. He should have known that when Smith went alone, it normally spelled danger in caps  and red.

He had forgotten that. It had been three days since Smith had passed away saving him and he had already forgotten that. It was a given not to let Smith go alone as he made trouble. Even with all Will had done, he still went and done it. Will could imagine the man chastising him for following along with him even while he felt guilty for not telling the child to stay, it would have happened differently but otherwise the same.  Smith cowering behind the children. Smith would have gotten on the nerves of Shar'bog faster than Will had and likely got hurt because of it. All in all, it was a good thing Smith had died. Will's tears came to a stop as he slid himself against down the wall. He wiped off his tears as he turned to weeping. His shoulders trembled. The giraffe like child came down the ladder then came over to Will's side.

"I am Seamoor," Seamoor said.

"I-I-I-I-I-I I am Will," Will said. "Will Robinson."

"Will Robinson?" Seamoor replied. "Where's your side kick Doctor Smith?" Will closed his eyes inbetween his sobs.

"He-h-h-e passed away," Will said, bobbing his head up and down.

"You must be in dire straights," Seamoor said. "I heard he showed up at Smyth's bar and assaulted a Intergalactic Police Officer,"

"That was someone else," Will said, in-between sobs. He looked up with red eyes toward Seamoor. "That wasn't Doctor Smith."

Seamoor sat down alongside Will.

"I can be your friend if you like," Seamoor said.

"Thanks,"  Will said, as he lowered his head. "Why are you so calm?"

"My people have been snatched for centuries for this kind of work," Seamoor said. "It's a waste of my time to cry or throw a tamper-tantrum when that energy could be spent on working."

Will stopped crying then looked at Seamoor with a look of disbelief and his cheeks a shade of pink.

"That's not right," Will said. "don't you miss your folks?"

"I do," Seamoor said. "They did their best raising  me and I will do my best carrying their principles with my roommates."

"On Earth,"  Will said. "It's often seen as a good thing to cry. Helps make you feel better than you were before. Don't you ever cry?"

"I do," Seamoor said. "Not over trivial matters. This is my life now. I can't change that. I miss my family, though."

"Me too," Will said, his hands on his knees.

"Could we be friends?" Seamoor asked.

"The way I see it, we're already friends," Will said, with a smile. "What's your species called?"

"Gallumians," Seamoor said. "It's stupid."

"No," Will said. "You make my species name sound like a piece of cake."

* * *

The children were fast asleep shoulder by shoulder when the doors opened to their room. Will bolted up to his feet at the sound and Seamoor's eyes opened. They were escorted out of their room and into a long line of children going into what seemed to be the showers. Will was irked sharing the same shower with other children. He was used to sharing one rationed, quick bath. It had been a long time since he had a shower on his own. He was sent forward by one of the children behind him then handed a small pile of clothes complete with boot. He was escorted to a dry, clean room where he undressed. Away went the two piece shirt, orange pants, and small black boots. Away went his black socks. He neatly folded them feeling invaded by the sights of other children.  Will looked over noticing the other children were not paying attention. Some of them appeared to be frightened as he did. Will sighed in relief, his attention turned onto the Jupiter 2 assigned clothing. It was set beside the clothing that had been given to him. In front of the small collection of clothing was his name tag.

Doctor Smith would not have fared well in this environment, let alone being separated from Will. 

It then occurred to Will that his friend would have died in a cruel manner.

That simple fact that Doctor Smith was deceased made Will relax.

Doctor Smith was happy and content wherever he was. No chores to do, nothing to bother him while he rested against a rock, enjoying a good sun tan. The cowardly doctor once told Will not to be controlled by his fear but to control it. It had become a phrase that had not aged well as it controlled Smith. He let fear stop him. Will turned around toward the direction of a black screen that had a glowing word that read 'go'. Will was sent forward by the crowd into the showers nearly slipping on his way in. Will came under a sprout of water. The dirt that he had gathered in the cave was slipped off. The warm, comfortable water trailed down his skin feeling engulfed in comfort. The water abruptly stopped once his face was cleaned. There was no items of soap to wash with but there was certainly a robot at the entrance of the dry section with a towel.

Will made his way over then took a towel. He entered to see the Jupiter 2 clothing was missing. It felt like he had been floored. His shiny name plate was still there as was his new uniform. Will slipped off his wet, stinky boxers then dropped it onto the side of the ledge where the new outfit rested. They were a light gray two piece uniform that was sleeveless, lacked a neck collar, and had long pants. Will put on the new outfit without a tremble in his step. He looked around the room in search of familiar faces. He saw Seamoor putting on just a gray shirt as she had a centaur like build to her body. Will put on his new socks and boots. Will heard a snap then looked down to see that the boots had become shackles wrapped around the ankles and his feet were a dark film. Now, that wasn't fair. 

The children were escorted out of the room by Sharris and K'tumie into their designated chipping block. The cave was a elaborate with sprawling tunnels, light fixtures installed into the wall, and there were pickaxes that were discarded to the floor. He came to the far end of the tunnel. It reminded Will of the several caves that he had seen exploring strange new planets.  The light highlighted the caves as a beige color, somewhere between bronze and gold. Will felt a smack on his shoulder knocking him forward against the rock. A stinging, long pain was fresh on his back. As though he had been whipped and cut at the same time. Will looked over to see there was Shar'bog staring back at him. Will slowly picked up the pickaxe then the rock like humanoid walked away with the two guards. It was light weight to Will's hands.

His parents must be worried sick about him and trying to find him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a rough idea how this story is going to end. The ending idea is going to morph as the story goes and become _better_ over time.


	10. Chapter 10

It was the second day when a escape was attempted. Will didn't know knew who egged the first child to do it but it was started with the first domino that had fallen. Only five of them stayed behind counting Seamoor. Will broke his shackles into two making the black shadow covering his feet vanish automatically. Will and the other children were running down the corridor passing by the lantern like objects getting and closer to the exit. Will got his foot stuck in a crevice then twisted it and fell. The lingering two headed plant like child helped Will to his feet placing his hand around his shoulders then made a run for it after the children. Children fell to their feet then got back up heading down the tunnel.  Will's hopes soared as he could imagine his father beckoning him to the Jupiter 2 and his mother beside him with his hands out for him wearing a tearful smile.

One moment they were running, the next moment they found themselves in a cage with bars and the tunnel was gone.

"You disappoint me, children," Shar'bog said, coming out of the shadows. The lighting made him seem scarier and golden. "Just when I thought you're used to it."

"We will never get used to it!" the two headed child shouted. "I am half plant! Plants live on the surface! Not underground!"

"Tu'irch," Shar'bog said, approaching the two headed child. "That is what they call you?"

"Yes," the two headed child, Tu'irch, said.

Shar'bog turned toward a shadowed figure then shared a nod. One of the bars slid up before the children.

"I will make a example out of you," Shar'bog said, yanking Tu'irch out of the cage.

Will fell down to the floor on his side.

"No!" Will called, as Shar'bog dragged Tu'irch away. The cell bar came down in front of the children.

Tu'irch waved back at the chanting children.

"FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!" the children chanted as Tu'irch was handed off to T'kumie.

T'kumie dragged  Tu'irch away.

"The only way you will be free is the day you die," Shar'bog said. "There is no oxygen on the surface of this planet."

A dead weight dropped into the children's stomachs.

"Then how is there oxygen in here?" Will asked.

"We have a in grown forest that provides the oxygen," Shar'bog explained. "Despite being half plant this child will choke to death. Slowly and painfully. The cost of your freedom is death," he approached the cell doors wiping the dirt off his hands. "Get up to your feet," he gestured a finger toward the resting children. "You're going back to work."'

Shar'bog turned away from the cage. Will scanned his many new friends: Ric'ar, D'hai, T'ichy, Mia'cain, Opal'zone, and Z-Space to name a few of them. The children that he had befriended were on the floor tending to their cuts. The standing children shared glances with other. Most of them were humans and had human-ish names that sounded typical yet different the way it was pronounced. Z-Space had a concerned, yetbaffled look on his face. Will's friends shook their heads. Will used Ric'ar as his support to stand onto his feet keeping his other foot up. Will watched the towering rock like man stroll toward the exit.

"Some of us can't work," Will said.

"What did you say?" Shar'bog asked, turning toward the cage.

"We can't," Will said, pointing toward the resting children caring to their cuts.

"Of course," Shar'bog said, in disgust. "We'll get our metal dealer after you."

 _A Locksmith?_ , Will thought as Shar'bog beckoned over his female assistant Tuh'ug.

"As you request," Tuh'ug said, with a nod of her head and Shar'bog walked past them. She came to the console across from the cage. "Stand by and no sudden movements."

Light gray noticeable fog entered the cage. Will coughed, as it filled the cage while he covered his mouth. The gray gas brushed by the bars making the visibility of a force field become apparent. He let go of his mouth to grab hold of a bar to keep his balance. Will was the first one to fall to the floor coming to a landing against the bars. His eyes grew heavy watching the other children fall to the floor. His eyes slowly closed on him while he struggled to keep them open. With a final insistence, his eyes closed and his head turned to the side. The smoke filled the entire cage and settled down. Then it vanished abruptly once the children were asleep. Tuh'ug pressed several rounded, colorful buttons on the flat beeping surface.


	11. Chapter 11

Will's eyes opened gradually to see a gray sick bay like area. Several of the children who had injuries were laid on long, flat beds that were lined up against the wall. There were seven children in total in the room without the perfectly healthy and uninjured children.  Will overheard distant arguing as the fog of sleep lingered. The arguing was getting louder mostly coming from a angry, exasperated individual giving a 'why you suck' speech that kept getting interrupted. The fog yanked Will back down into the darkness. The arguing began to go lower and lower until it was soft. He heard the soft comment "Oh, William," from someone familiar by his side. It was too soft and older to be the younger Smith. Though, it could be. When people spoke softly around him, they sounded older than they were. Will's eyes finally opened, the lethargic feeling was gone.

The pain in his foot was also gone.

His feet had yet to be shackled and the pain from his back was no more.

Will saw that there was a bracelet like object wrapped around his ankle.

Some kind of contraption that had glowing lights on the sides. 

"I want my mommy," Ric'ar said.

The  chair from across Will turned from the desk then  a man sprang up and came over to Ric'ar's side.

"No need to fear, Smith is here!" Smith said, cheerfully. "You will be seeing your parents very soon enough."

"Doctor Smith!" Will said. "Yo-yo---you're helping Shar'bog?" Smith looked over toward the child. 

"I had little choice in this matter," Smith said, putting his hands on the edge of the mobile table. It dawned on Will: the letter brought Smith _here_. "Don't look at me that way, William. I have not turned into a real monster." Will was unable to form a reply. "I am a monster in my universe but never did I think I would turn into one." Smith detached the gray object from Will's ankle then placed it onto the table. "It would be wise to let the grown ups execute the escape plan, Z-Space."

Z-Space was unable to move.

"My mother will kill you," Z-Space said. "Turn off the gravity beds!"

"I am afraid the Intergalactic Police will send her to hang or worse being sent to space vipers,"  Smith said. "Have you seen a space viper before?" Smith approached the child. "They are long like rope and they are bright green with red markings on their sides," he came to a stop in front of the child.  "They come in all directions, silently. If the first bite doesn't kill you, being bitten by more than one will do the trick. Dying by their poison is crueler than snakes on Earth. You get a fever, you shiver when you are not cold, you can't move, and it feels like you're being attacked by the inside. Twenty-four hours of wasting in bed is all takes to die."

Z-Space had a horrified look.

"You---" Z-Space said.

"Went to Death's door and came back," Smith said. "I did."

"You were on Viperia!" Z-Space said. "That is a restricted planet! It has Intergalactic protection."

"There wasn't in the case of the Robinsons when they came across a orbiting, lifeless ship and pillaged it to repair many other things like the chariot, space pod, and other things planet side," Smith said, then shook his head. "First adventure after time bubbles _and_ being scratched was snakes."

"When did you get here?" Will asked. 

"Two weeks ago," Smith said. Smith silently took the devices off the children one by one. "This is all part of the plan."

"I want to be part of the plan," Will said

"You played your part, dear child," Smith replied. Smith regretfully added, "I didn't expect you to be in that block."

"Hey!" Z-Space said.  "No one told me about the plan."

"Doing your part is following the leader," Smith said, as the wide awake children's eyes were on the man. He placed the devices on the table. "Shar'bog hates chaos," Smith took out several of the new variation of bands that were pitch black. "Shar'bog makes mistakes after chaos," one by one he placed them onto the table after transferring the medical devices. "Shar'bog loses things," he moved the devices into the cupboard. "Shar'bog stops paying attention," he turned the table away. "Shar'bog becomes vulnerable and easy to confuse." he turned toward the children. "Shar'bog is a perfect victim."

"Where do we go home?" Mia'Cain asked.

"We've been stepping up the plan day by day," Smith said. "We might have to move the schedule up."

"How can we help?" T'ichy said.

"By doing nothing," Smith said.

"Nothing gets us whipped," Mai'Cain said.

"You can pretend to doing work and being worn down by it when Shar'bog is looking," Smith said. "Mess with him."

"We can do that," Z-Space said, grinning from ear to ear.

"It'll be fun," Smith added.


	12. Chapter 12

Smith looked over toward Will's bruised hands then came over to the cabinet. The children were leaving in a organized line except for Will. The gravity bed was deactivated so Will was allowed to be sitting on the edge of it when Smith returned with a clipping and a roll of gauze. Smith wrapped a white fabric around Will's hands. Will kept his hands still letting him do the wrapping and pinning the metal between the wrapping when he came to a stop. Will curiously looked up in the direction of Smith.

"Why do I need my hands bandaged up?" Will asked. "My hands are not hurt."

"Play along, child," Smith said, patting on Will's shoulder. "If I can help it, you won't be working."

"Won't that be a red flag for Shar'bog?" Will pointed out.

"He won't know you're not hurt," Smith said, coming to a thin like device on the table. "I intend to keep it that way."

"I don't know how I am going to eat with this," Will said.

"As I said, schedule is moving up," Smith said. "You won't have to eat miner food, again."

And it sounded like a promise coming from Smith.

* * *

General Goddard and this Major West shared a uncanny resemblance except they were split apart by decades and a entire alternate universe. Smith recalled Daniels death, a very well performance that didn't have as much blood spilled in the room. Smith recalled Daniels's excitement of joining the Jupiter 2 crew to bring them to Alpha Prime and have the second hyper gate built. Smith recalled pouring the contents of the poison into Daniels's glass then twirling it with a spoon. The fateful act that ensured Major West being assigned as pilot to the Jupiter 2. It turned out that Daniels was never the original pilot assigned to the Jupiter 2 in this universe and it was always Major West in the pilot seat. General Goddard visited Smith often in the lab during the construction of the Robot. There were some characteristics that didn't change between the universes. What little he had seen of this Major West was like a mirror of the General only younger, optimistic, and perhaps still as wary. And maybe, more hopeful. Perhaps, if he read the man right, the Major might share the same intense dislike of him.

Per the Batman punch to the face.

Smith expected that to happen, eventually, after he came across the Major.

Asides to differences, this Will didn't resort to attempt getting his father's attention. He didn't strive to become the very best scientist or inventor. He had no reason at all, according to Professor Robinson. This universe was kinder to the Robinsons. So kind that they forgave likely easier than their counterparts. Don and John had radiated in hope. They were more like glowing in it when he first encountered them just like Will did. Everyone was glowing in this universe as though a chat filter was on for everyone. Will had a short statue that was slightly taller compared to the other version of him that his spider version had manipulated for decades. Smith hoped it wouldn't repeat. Befriending the child and manipulating him to do as he willed.

Smith watched the colorful, glowing children come out of the medical room while leaning against the doorway.


	13. Chapter 13

"Doctor Smith, this miner has not worked his first _week_ ," Shar'bog said, looking up from the padd.

"Yes, yes, yes, I understand," Smith replied. "However, he broke his hand on the escape."

"I didn't notice," Shar'bog said. "we have a device that can fix his problem."

"His hand will fall apart in it and make the devices explode," Smith took out the broken strapped device from his pocket. "I am afraid the child must heal naturally." he handed it to Shar'bog for observation.

"Hmmm," Shar'bog said. "That makes it the fifth bone generator you had broken in your tenure here."

"Beating on it means some good comes out of it," Smith said. "It takes all it has."

"You are not treating it right," Shar'bog said.

"I would say the same for you treating the children," Smith said. "Children are not workers."

"This argument again?" Shar'bog asked. "As I said before, they get things done faster." he stared down the human. "Is this about the Robinson boy?"

"No," Smith said. "it's about the children." Shar'bog grew a bemused look.

"You have a soft spot for the Robinson boy," Shar'bog said.

"I most certainly do not!" Smith said, insistently. 

"Caring too much about your fellow Earthling, again," Shar'bog said. "Thought you said you  became young again, got infected, and ran away for the sole purpose of not letting the attachments die."

Smith nodded.

"I suppose I did say that," Smith said. Smith had a disturbed sigh looking up from the padd in his hands.  "I can accept patching people up, but this? Being about children," he shook his head. "You will need a new goon to take care of your dirty work in the next few days."

Shar'bog had a cocky laugh.

"You won't leave," Shar'bog said. "that delicate back of yours won't allow it, Earthling."

"I'll say you won't leave this facility in one piece," Smith said.

"What?" Shar'bog said, looking at the human with bewilderment.

"You won't leave this facility without all the pieces of your puzzle still working down here," Smith corrected.

"Quite literal," Shar'bog said. "I do have some business to attend in the elderly mining facility in three days."

"Remind me why I accepted this job," Smith said.

"It's the only good thing you can do," Shar'bog said, with a sinister smile. "Asides to a miserable, cowardly existence as a hybrid spider." Shar'bog's face changed noticing the long, sad look coming from Smith that seemed grim. He looked older rather than younger standing before the rock like humanoid. "Is there something I am missing?"

"You will not have workers in this facility should I become that," Smith said. "I won't be me. And I love being _me_." he leaned forward. "You're the one who is doomed, Mr Shar'bog." Smith straightened himself up then walk away.

Shar'bog shook his head then handed the device to his assistant Tuh'ug.

* * *

There was a loud thundering sound that shook the mining complex. Will climbed down the ladder and Seamoor came to his side. It was Seamoor who tapped on the door using her finger and then it fell to the floor. A red light was echoing through the tunnel that was glowing a light red. The distant sounds of a female voice announcing 'Red alert' over and over lacking a explanation. Will fled down the hall at the first chance with Seamoor behind him following the other children. They came into the forest like room. There was smoke drifting above the ground in a fog like manner. Will looked around looking for a familiar face standing in the forest unsure. There were two familiar guards being Sharris and another familiar guard  handing children clothing that were not mining approved out fits. Will climbed a large tree surveying for Smith who was no where to be found. He climbed back down to the floor then looked up to see a flying folded colorful orange and red outfit heading his way.

Will caught the outfit into his arms.

There was a soft click then he looked down to see the shackles had fallen off.

Will changed back into his Jupiter 2 outfit and dropped the gray two piece outfit to the floor.

"Remain calm," Sharris said. "we are working on this as the time permits."

"I want to go home!" came a child.

"Stand still for one hour then you can go home," Sharris explained.

"How unexpected," Seamoor said. "I thought this was going to be a lifetime deal not a weekend."

Will looked over hearing the sound of a door.

"REMAIN STILL," Sharris shouted. "THIS IS ALL PART OF THE PLAN."

Will slid out of the forest part of the room making it out on time as the doors closed behind him.

Will looked over hearing the screaming of children from behind him behind the wall full of panic, fear, and hysteria.

"Will!" Seamoor called. "Will!"

Will walked away. 

* * *

Smith emptied the cabinet and the drawer of medical devices and medicine.  He tied the sack then put it over his shoulder. He ran out of the sick bay feeling the ground move underneath him. The thunderous applause of the great plan rocked the facility from side to side. His other contacts were making their movements in the mission with reasonable success. Smith fled down the empty, glowing red hall. He came to a stop sensing that he was being watched. He stopped then pressed himself against the wall looking off. The sound of his heart was loudly repeating in his ears. Smith carefully slid his body down the corridor all the while keeping his back off against the rocky surface. The feeling of eyes on him slowly went away.

"Doctor Smith!"

Smith stopped seeing the distant figure and felt a distinctive throbbing nerve from his forehead.

"Why am I not surprised," Smith said, rubbing his forehead. "There is another shelter down the hall that hasn't been blocked off," then approached the child. "You are very reliable at not staying where it is safe."

"You once said it is a lifesaver," Will said.

"When it wasn't the Jupiter 2 being a threat, William," Smith said. "There wasn't cannibalistic plants in there."

"How do you know about that?" Will asked. Smith glared down at the child.

"You're a real trooper," Smith handed the sack to Will.

"I learned from the best," Will said, earning a strangely distressed look from Smith.

"I am not the best," Smith said. "Just because I have a tendency to wander away and find danger doesn't make me the best. Being paranoid runs in my career." Will looked inside the back then slowly back up toward the man. "The Jupiter 2 will need this for medical purposes."

"Why are you giving me this?" Will asked.

"It can't help me but it can help your family," Smith said. 

"SMIIIITH!" A familiar shout came from behind him.

"Run, child!" Smith turned Will away from him then sent Will away.

Shar'bog crashed Smith against the rocky wall. Pieces of rock jabbed against Smith's back making him have a sharp gasp and his eyes winced. He opened his eyes, feeling multiple wounds from his back. He likely had four injuries along his vertebrae. His mutant like infliction was spreading to likely fifteen percent of his back. He was doomed. Smith stared at Shar'bog fighting back tears  looking at him in the eye. Shar'bog's stinky breath made his soul want to part his body. The crazed, disheveled aesthetic was all over Shar'bog. The well kept, tidy man dressed in blue from head to toe had a half torn outfit.

The corridor trembled as Shar'bog shoved Smith in deeper into the rocky wall. Will turned away then fled as Smith gave out a loud, pained cry. Smith waited until Will's feet were distant sounds while Shar'bog gave a long rant about what he went through in the past several hours. Smith locked eyes with the rock like man. His hand slipping into his pant pocket then flipped out a hypospray and slapped it into the side of Shar'bog's neck. Shar'bog's intense, heated eyes lost their anger replaced by a look of confusion and surprise. The corridor trembled as Shar'bog stepped back clenching onto the side of his neck. Smith was wedged into the terrain of the wall. He felt the tunnel tremble. The distinctive sound of water coursing through the rocks. The rocks were slowly breaking apart. Just as Shar'bog. Shar'bog's organic body was losing the rock. He was dying before Smith's eyes. Pieces of his rock like body were falling apart. Smith held his hand up giving a small wave. Shar'bog reached his arms forward to Smith with renewed vigor. A gust of water flew past Smith taking Shar'bog with it.

Smith relaxed in the small alien made cavern. The only thing that was dangling out of the cavern was his boots. Smith took out the device that he had acquired in the last two weeks. Behind the scenes,  without William having to see or be part of it, he had organized a silent and effective take down of a legal binding system. Money was transferred to questionable, shady individuals who did shabby repairs, coders who made a back door and pointed it out to the conspirators, finding certain hours of the day that bothered Shar'bog in the schedule. Smith rubbed the back of his head looking down at the device. The device indicated that the other sections were scrubbed of the material that had been mined. Smith watched the water recede until it was only puddles on the ground. A little over a hour passed.

Smith wiggled his way down out of the cavern.

Smith landed on his feet then felt a sting from his back and looked over to see water was pouring out.


	14. Chapter 14

"We don't have enough deutronium to land off the planet," John explained to the girls as Don and Maureen went into the shuttle pod. "so that is why Don and Maureen are going down in the space pod.

"Why don't we extract some deutronium from the planet?" Penny asked.

"My sensors indicate there is not enough deutronium to extract," the Robot announced, its head whirring. 

"We'll be getting more deutroniun on the neighboring planet Takuchi Seven," John said. "This time we are getting more than a month's worth of fuel."

There was silence from the girls. Two weeks worth of being concerned and worried for Will on top of losing their grandfather like figure had been a heavy blow. They hadn't been going around visiting planets as they normally did before with Will around. They were more of a spaceship that was floating around in space with little fuel. They had left the planet that Will had been on abruptly afterwards on a desperate search for him. They hadn't gotten the time to refuel the Jupiter. The door to the shuttle pod closed blocking it off from the inside Jupiter 2. Relief had crashed through the Jupiter after the news like a much needed shore leave.

* * *

Don piloted the space pod to the surface of the planet. Maureen was in the Jupiter gray's, the same kind that Don was in, with her hands linked behind her back. Don spared a glance toward Maureen out of sympathy then toward the landmass that was growing larger. There were lines of gray halls sprouting from the center of the cave that lead to facilities. There were several spaceships that were leaving and some that had just arrived. Maureen looked on with a sigh. Don piloted the ship at one of the pockets that had been specifically designed for the landing of a earthling vessel. The space pod came to a gentle landing. Maureen came to the door then opened it. She climbed down the automatic staircase with Don behind her.

In front of the door to the exit of the landing pit was a green and red pig like individual, a Calaron, came forth with hands linked behind her back. She was in a light green uniform with the gray hat that had the golden emblem on the center. It was a striking reminder to Don of a earlier adventure facing the Intergalactic Police. A different variation from the prison warden's blue and gray outfit that had the gray sleeve cuffs. It had been a while since he had encountered a Intergalactic police officer.  
  
"I am Lieutenant  O'Wells," O'Wells said.  "You must be Mrs Robinson and Major West."  
  
"Is my son here?"  Maureen asked.  
  
"Alive and well," O'Wells said, with a smile.  "You have a brave son."  
  
Maureen became relieved at the news.  
  
"That's my son," Maureen said.    
  
O'Well's looked over toward West.

"Doctor Smith is currently resting from the multiple surgeries that he had to be part of," O'Wells said.

"How many since we got that message?" Don asked.

"It's hard to keep track when he does someone behind our back," O'Wells said.  
  
Don had a bemused look appear on his face as he shared a glance with Maureen.  
  
"That is our Smith," Don said, cheerfully.

"Come with me," O'Wells said, gesturing toward the two.

* * *

_Smith was traversing a forest on a slow, peaceful stroll._

_It was dark and unfamiliar to him as he was going through it._

_What bothered him was the lack of owls hooting, the sounds of frogs ribbiting, and the sound of buzzing. Smith was experiencing fear at its primal stage. Smith looked around, warily, feeling like he were being watched. He heard the sounds of small feet skitting the forest floor. It was crystal clear to his ears. Smith turned seeing a fleet of strange spiders heading his way. Smith turned then fled on food. He tripped over a piece of log once or twice then continued running. He looked over his shoulder seeing them oncoming. They were getting dangerously closer to him. He was terrified beyond his wildest thoughts. The sky was blocked by the large trees looming above him. He made his way into the forest then went into a wooden shack. The door slammed shut  behind him. He looked through a small hole. The sound of small feet were retreating into the forest._  
  
_"Like the apartment?"_  
  
_Smith froze in place while clinging onto the door._  
  
_"Don't treat yourself like that."_  
  
_Smith closed his eyes then let his forehead meet the wooden door._  
  
_"Giving me the silent treatment?"_  
  
_His eyebrows knitted together._  
  
_"I thought you would appreciate the children."_  
  
_Smith's stomach twisted._  
  
_"Face the music, Doctor Smith."_  
  
_He felt a hand with long, sharp claws placed on to his shoulder. A sharp pain erupted from his back. He pressed his chest against the wall while digging his fingers into the wood, squeezing his eyes shut._  
  
_"Acknowledge me!"_  
  
_Smith was turned away and his back met the door to face his greatest enemy--_  
  
"You are not me!" Smith shouted, bolting up in a cold sweat.  
  
Smith helped himself up to his feet using the side of the arm rest to the long couch. Tremblingly, Smith made his way to the bathroom then threw water onto his face. He took off his shirt and looked at himself. Smith slowly turned around then faced his music. The wounds on his back were being replaced by several exposed blue veins that were roughly the size of his fist. He had to apply medical treatment to cover them up. His main injury, being along the right side of his back, was a long thin scar with a apparent blue nerve sticking out. It was disgusting in all its forms to him. Smith fell to his feet. The face of his future laughed at him, terrified him, and taunted him. Smith was in a emotional state. He used the nearby wall as his support then put the bright blue shirt back on.  Then put on his black shoes. 

Smith made his way out of the quarters that he had been housed in. He made his way toward the make shift sick bay with a zombie like demeanor about him. There were intergalactic officers swarming the place. Once a dark and dreary mining facility, it had become a much lively and happier place. They had brought in several medical devices from the Intergalactic medical corps and replaced the machinery used commonly on the workers.  Smith leaned against the wall feeling the pain stinging from his back. He can still feel the fingers digging into his shoulder. His forehead was pressed against the top of his hand. The infection now covered fifteen percent of his back. It hadn't reached to twenty percent, fortunately. Smith resumed his path to the improvised sick bay and was nearly about there when he saw three colorfully dressed individuals prepared to bump into each other.

"Mom!" Will ran toward Maureen.

Maureen knelt down toward Will's level into Maureen's arms.

"Will!" Maureen grabbed hold onto Will  and held on to him in the warm hug as Smith went into the makeshift sick bay.

He would never forget seeing such a happy smile on a beautiful woman's face.


	15. Chapter 15

"I never seen a back quite like this, Doctor Smith," Doctor Paris said.

"And you never will," Smith said. "Please repair the other injuries."

"I find it hard to do so when they all look the same," Paris said. "I've been told that there are wounds I can't repair on you."

"The big blobs are the ones you can get rid of," Smith replied, his chest resting against the bed. 

"All of them are blobs," Paris replied

"You can't remove the long, line like blob on the right shoulder," Smith elaborated. "It's a permanent decoration of my body."

"Oooh," Their eyes lit up.  "then I can fix those other injuries."

"Do as much as you can, Doctor," Smith replied.

Don saw Smith's strange back. 

Half of it looked human while the other half did not look human at all.

The physician applied the device onto his bruised, swollen back.

The swelling with the blobs went down making them appear removable with a simple pinch.

Another device was taken out then applied above the injury. Fresh green-gray skin covered the exposed long blue vein. Smith was visibly trembling on the bed like a scared cat taken in for medical care. Don's eyes went over to Smith's shoulders where there was obvious scarring like he had been through worse. The scars were in tatters, aged, and harmless as though undergoing some form of torture that damaged his skin. The scarring was sagging, perhaps worse than any other war scar that Don had seen. He hadn't seen that kind of scarring from the other Smith when the doctor had his back to him donning a well earned bad tan. Smith's eyes glared in the direction of the Major with his facial features not displaying fear. The surgeon removed the blue jelly-like blobs onto a rounded bowl. Paris sealed the wound up using two medical tools to sew it up.

"What are you looking at, Major?" Smith asked.

"Those scars," Don said. "I never seen anything like it."

"'It was a long time ago," he amusingly laughed. "Well, to me it was."

"Was it from the Millennial war?" Don asked.

"Wars," Smith corrected. Smith then nodded back. "Spies don't get caught in war."

"Except you did," Don said.

"Once," Smith said, as he seated himself up on the edge of the bed. Smith raised a brow. "Your Smith didn't get caught?"

"Not at all," Don said.

"How kind," Smith said. Smith put on his shirt then smoothed it out and faced the major with a look of sympathy. "I admire your strength keeping yourself together with that grief on your shoulders."

"Is it that obvious?" Don asked.

"Yes," Smith nodded. "To a professional psychologist."

"Oh Smith," Don said, with a laugh as he had his hands on his hips shaking his head. "It's good to see you."

"As if," Smith said, in disbelief. "I find it hard to believe that the crew of the Jupiter 2 would be happy to see me."

"Right, right," Don said, nodding his head, "You are from the gritty, dark universe."

"Yes," Smith said. "we don't really like each other. Your 'earthling' family can't stand you."

"My family on Earth is better than my counterparts version," Don said. "Only thing they can't stand are my bad, dirty jokes."

"Dead on arrival, I presume," Smith said.

"Uh huh," Don said, earning a laugh from Smith.

"That is funny," Smith said. "and you were trying to 'dethaw Judy' last I had seen."

"Did I hear you right?" Smith nodded in return. "That is not how I do my romance. That is not how anyone courts a woman. That's just. . ." he shook his head, grimacing. "That is not right. If she is not interested then she is not interested in me. Just how was I dethawing her?"

"Spare me the unnecessary questions, Major," Smith replied. "you wouldn't like it. It's insulting enough to you."

"Dethawing isn't giving me a good idea of what our relationship is like," Don said.

"It's like you and Judy are the couple created for comical relief," Smith said.

"You're right," Don said. "I hate it."

"I hope when we meet again that your grieving will be over," Smith said.  
  
Don did not seem to be so certain raising a eyebrow back in return.  
  
"Given your tendency to be making trouble, it'll be less than a month," Don said.  
  
"I left to protect the children," Smith said. "I am certainly not going back."  
  
"The professor would like to offer finding a inhospitable planet to leave you on," Don said."We don't have a good map but we find danger and resources."

"More like adventure," Smith added, earning a nod from Don.

"You want a to die on a planet that has no wildlife. Nothing to get infected from your death and spread all over. You want a planet that is like hell. One that you can walk in with your dignity. Is that what you want?" Don asked. Smith nodded in return. "We are not asking you to become part of our family, we are offering to help you find that planet. The Intergalactic police won't admit they have a planet and likely will stall in every way they could from helping a man of your skills commit suicide."

"You are not just making this up as you go along because you need a doctor familiar to the equipment William has," Smith said, eying the major suspiciously.

"Not making it up," Don said, holding his hands up defenselessly. "Mr Robinson approved and so did Mrs Robinson."

"I will consider it," Smith said, with a nod. 

"You have starting from now to ten to decide," Don said. "That is how long the offer lasts." Don walked away from Smith.


	16. Chapter 16

The four blue blobs were sent to the Intergalactic Institute of Science in separate containers. Smith filed paperwork regarding reasons why not to test it on animals. It took him three hours to do the paperwork that turned into a large essay. The computer's big, bulky keys made it difficult for his fingers to adjust and after while, he was a pro at it. It came out as a long sheet of paper that he had to fold and put it into a envelope. The computer saved the essay to the database with a chime then the screen glowed a gentle yellow. The computer station was large and vast with several other stations to it presenting different functions around the repaired facility. He got off the chair then made his way over toward the small container with a slit in the center.

It was designated for the institute of science alongside other boxes designated for different places such as 'Intergalactic orphanage', 'Intergalactic police headquarters', 'Intergalactic central government', and 'Intergalactic missing persons'. Smith supposed they had other boxes for different situations when arriving to clean up a mess made by a questionable individual. He dropped the envelope into the box for the science university. A puff of smoke appeared above the box then slowly vanished before his eyes. It was a strange way of sending letters intergalactically. It fascinated Smith at how they did communications out here. It also seemed that the Intergalactic police force and government used machines to do most of the work for them. Including have a jury of robots determine his fate which was not fair in the slightest. A jury was supposed to be a group of twelve individuals who were sapient and could argue about the case with one another. Smith turned away from the box then walked away. Which is when Smith unexpectedly bumped into a strange individual. This individual had dark blue skin, lighter blue afro hair hairstyle, big lip piercings, long, sharp contrasting black robes. The figure was approximately taller than Smith by at last two feet. Smith observed a skull badge on the man's chest that seemed cracked around the center of it.

"Sorry," Smith apologized then stepped back. He observed the blue man taken back. Unlike the blue-golden man, he wasn't as muscular nor had husks coming from two corners of his mouth. Unlike the blue-golden man, he wasn't six foot seven. "You're very blue."

"And you're very pink," Blue replied. "I don't suppose your name is pink, isn't it?"

"I am not pink," Smith said. "I'm red."

Blue raised the ridges where his eyebrows were supposed to be.

"Mr Red?" Blue asked. "Then call me Blue."

"Doctor Smith," Smith said, watching Blue's eyes light up.

"Doctor Smith," Blue said, with a smile. "I heard you are in need of help."

"I do not need help," Smith walked past the man.

"The kind of help that cures you," Blue shifted toward the paused man.

"Cure," Smith said, sarcastically. "You can't cure evil."

Blue approached the man.

"What if I told you I could take out the other half and make it into its own person at the cost of your energy?" Blue asked. "Might bring you close to death," Smith's eyes big as he turned in the direction of Blue to display his anger. "But you'll be free to live."

"Am I clear to understand. . ." Smith started, as his eyes returned to their normal size.  "that you are asking me to _willingly_ let go of my spider half for your personal gain."

"Yes, no," Blue lied, as Smith stared into his eyes. "I specialize in getting rid of incurable problems."

"What kind of incurable problems is that?" Smith asked, cocking a brow up.

"Terrifying, freaky monsters," Blue said. Smith narrowed his eyes toward Blue.

"You don't know what I would become," Smith said. "you can't risk a ecological hazard planet-side, now can you."

"I can risk that," Blue said. "I am adding it to my collection."

"Collection," Smith shoved the man forward with a finger, "COLLECTION," his eyes were full of fury. "That's how it always begins."

"What begins?" Blue asked.

"Disaster," Smith replied, stepping forward. "It begins with people like me being preoccupied with whether or not we could, we never stop to think we should. People like you," Blue was walking backwards as the Earthling jabbed at his chest at each word. "collect our mistakes." Blue came to a stop against the wall. "You show them to the general public. Then there is screaming, death, and people running away for their lives."

"It is not going to be shown to the public," Blue said. "In fact, the planet I live on doesn't have lifeforms like me."

"I find that hard to believe," Smith said. "If you know what's best for your collection, don't come nagging after me." Smith walked away.

"You can find me where there are people with troubles like you!" Blue said. "My offer is always on the table!"

Smith turned in the direction of Blue with his trembling fists.

"Over my dead body," Smith replied, his eyes meeting Blue's transparent ones.

Smith turned away and walked out of the room. Blue swore in his mother tongue then smacked his hand onto the table. The boxes trembled from his loud smack. Blue gripped onto the table then counted back to ten. His large, blue fingers tapped on the table as his mind processed virtually other ways to draw the Earthling's attention in the future. He looked over his shoulder in the direction that Smith had gone then toward the table. Smith was going to come back looking for him in due time. All on his own, desperately, Blue hoped. He loved to see Smith half dead, half alive bringing himself to the man to be free of his spider transformation. He had no idea what kind of spider that Smith was turning into but he love to get his hands on it and study it.

* * *

Sharris had seen the once active facility from active to being not as active. Tuh'Ug was taken into custody and slated to face one of the hottest quadrants in the Intergalactic Prison system. It wasn't going to be pleasant in Quadrant Five, it was never supposed to be that way mining away for blocks of ice. Thousands of quadrants ranged in weather. Weather that could kill a given being or be a inconvenience less fatal than being killed under direct orders of the Intergalactic Council through the Intergalactic Laws. Sharris spotted the Earthling making his way to his quarters. Sharris nodded to xirself, it had to be done for someone insanely willing to help destroy the unethical mining operation.

"Doctor Smith," Sharris said.

Smith stopped then turned toward Sharris.

"Yes?" Smith said.

"I didn't get the chance to thank you," Sharris said.

"None is necessary. I do this for a living. Now that. . ." Smith sighed and paused. All the while looking back with a grimace at his past. "was necessary."

"I used to think you were older, grayer, and shorter based off the stories," Sharris said. "The Doctor Smith I heard of is a coward."

"I _am_ a coward," Smith insisted. "Between you and me: someone else planted those bombs and orchestrated that."

"I know, you have a reputation to protect," Sharris said.

"You are very gullible," Smith said, shaking his index finger. "I had several of the children help. They will never tell, you know children, don't want to relive traumatic experiences." Sharris nodded in agreement.

"I don't want that," Sharris said. "The next time I see you--"

"It better be never," Smith finished. "and if we do," he lightly patted on Xer's shoulder. "I rather be old."

Sharris reached a hand out.

"Let's shake on it," Sharris said.

Smith shook the hairy hand of Sharris.

"Take care of yourself, old man," Smith said.

"No, you better," Sharris said. "there are more threatening people than Shar'bog out there."

"You don't have to remind me," Smith said, letting go of xir's hand and gave a smile. 

Smith went into his assigned quarters for the last time. Sharris watched the door close behind him then walked away feeling happy and elated.

* * *

A part of Don doubted that Smith would remotely want to stay here. Anytime Smith had decided to stay, things were turned against him. Don snickered at the memory of facing against a green foe who had been promised to Smith as a 'way back to Earth' and it turned out that Smith had to kill him to get back. Smith couldn't exactly kill but he could give a mean right good at his spry age. After knocking the green shorter man out, Smith was towed away from the family and his hands were repaired from the boxing as was his face. He could still remember the look of panic on Smith's face when he saw him again. Smith pleading for them to help him get out of there and insisting that he was too young to die. To think it was back on Preplanis, the beginning, that it took place.

"Get me out of here before I decide to take that cantankerous blue man's insane offer, Major,"  
  
Don jumped and turned expecting to see the older Smith sitting there. Except, it wasn't the Smith that he was familiar to. He was in the same position that his Smith would be  in after seating himself inside when no one was paying attention. He had mobile chair underneath him surrounded by boxes of books.  The self imposed image of the older Smith faded away replaced by the younger Smith with his arms folded.  
  
"I assure you," Smith said. "They are all in English. You need new novels, do you?"  
  
"Mmm, yes," Don said. "Depending on the type of novels you got."  
  
"Romance, mermaids, fantasy," Smith said. "Thankfully nothing science fiction since you're living it," Smith placed a novel into the box.  "I decided not to bother your sweet recollection."  
  
"Did you ever fight a Galgaran?" Don asked.  
  
 "A Galgaran?"  Smith said. "You mean the short green, thin man with nerves that are visible?" Smith waved his finger in a circle.  
  
"Yes," Don said, grinning.  
  
 "Professor Robinson did," Smith said. "I had to patch him up after the escape."  
  
"What stopped you from encountering the Galgaran's manager?" Don asked, closing the door.  
  
"I declined," Smith said. "I had no reason to return to Earth." he looked toward the right. "Not with my condition."  
   
"And you recommended the professor," Don said.

"They had a chance," Smith said. "It was almost a win-win for me."

"How so?" Don asked.

"Being stuck with a rebuilt Robot," Smith replied. "He's the reason why the other stowaway lived long enough to become a . ." Smith had a difficult, emotional sigh. Don began the piloting of the space pod. The doors to the landing pit above slowly opened. Smith noticed the differences and similarities between the space pods very strongly. There wasn't that many chairs around for someone to sit. "Monster."  
  
"Not surprising," Don said. "The Robot can only eliminate threats to the family."  
  
"Do tell me which room was Zachary's?" Smith asked.  
  
 "Will can show you," Don said.  
  
"Is there any other free rooms?" Smith asked.  
  
 "Yes, there is," Don looked toward Smith.  
  
"It would be best to not be a replacement goldfish to the children," Smith said. "The children are still grieving over their loss. I bet your friend's neural nets have been fused," He looked over toward Don. "Just like the other."  
  
Don looked over briefly toward Smith.  
  
"Funny thing about that," Don said.  
  
"He has a soul," Smith said. "That's nothing funny about it."  
  
"Sure it isn't," Don said.  
  
"So you never lost the Robot to a bunch of spiders," Smith said.  
  
"No," Don said.  
  
"William didn't rebuild him out of spare parts," Smith said.  
  
"Not at all," Don said.  
  
"Count yourself lucky that you got to see the Robot become sapient," Smith said.  
  
"We actually landed on a planet called Preplanis after our few space adventures," Don said. "Zach made it explode."  
  
"Cosmodium," Smith said. "I was always too greedy for my own good."  
  
"Ever heard of a Intergalactic card game?" Don said.  
  
"No," Smith said.  
  
"Good, I'll teach you," Don said. "A miner introduced the game to Zach so he brought it to us."  
  
"I find it hard to believe he let you call him that when you had Zachary to use," Smith said. "If you were close as I think you were."

Don looked over toward him.

"He called me Smith," Smith said. "You've been out there for more than three years lost in space."

Don turned his attention back toward the sky.

"You won't believe how silly space is in our universe," Don said.  "and quite thought provoking it is."

"I know, I know," Smith said, softly, feeling agonizing anticipation staring at the distant circular figure.

Oh, the agony.

The agony that he was going to put the children through with his presence.

It made him feel queasy.


	17. Chapter 17

Smith relaxed, noticing that the bridge was empty.

"Everyone else is fast asleep," The Robot said, coming forward surprising the human.

Smith leaned away and his eyes grew large at the very sight of the Robot. His hands rolled into fists to control his anger at the Robot. The anger that he had felt one month and two weeks ago was still there. It wasn't Smith's fault that the Robot hadn't done what it was made to do. To protect the Robinsons rather than do what it was manipulated to do. He had been told by Will how it had yanked the item onto its back with his order. It could have done it at any time. He wouldn't have faced the other stowaway. He wouldn't have nightmares about them. The other women would have appeared on the second Jupiter 2 with him dead. He would have died had they been around, but it was better than sticking around to become a monster. The Robot's head whirred toward Smith.

"How old are you?" The Robot asked.

"Twenty-seven," Smith lied.

"You don't look twenty-seven," The  Robot said. "I detect you are lying." Don shook his head and rolled a eye.

"You don't look new," Smith replied, dryly. "Now, who is the one asking how old one is." His eyes were like daggers at the Robot.

 "And John?" Don asked.

The Robot's head whirred toward Don.

"He 'hit the hay' thirty-three minutes ago," The Robot said.

"I'll start the piloting to Takuchi Seven,"  Don said, then came toward the piloting console.

"You're probably the shortest cylon I ever seen," Smith said.

"I detect awe in your statement," The Robot said. "I am, or was, state of the art back on Earth. I am not a cylon."

"Right, because cylons are taller," Smith said. "When did the Jupiter 2 leave Earth?"

"October 16, 1997," The Robot said. 

"This technology says it's older than 1997," Smith said, coming toward the navigation system. He looked at it with awe feeling around the circular flat surface. "I'll say, late 1960's."

"The 1960's marked the age of the space race," The Robot said. "Large, powerful computers had to be used for simple tasks."

"Like you," Smith said. 

"Ha, ha, ha," The Robot said. "Your insults cannot hurt me." Smith was taken back. 

"Older the better," Smith replied.

"That does not compute," The Robot said, its head whirring. 

"Of course it doesn't, ninny," Smith said. "Don't need to clean the screens or repair the control panels as often."

"They repair themselves," The Robot said. 

"They do what?" Smith asked, bewildered. 

"They are capable of repairs," The Robot said. 

"If I didn't know better . . ." Smith said. "I would say the United Global Space Force used alien technology in this universe to make the Jupiter 2."

"My files indicate that was the case," The Robot said. "Voluntarily."

"Do they know about that?" Smith asked. 

The Robot turned toward the distracted pilot then toward Smith. 

"No," The Robot said. "All they know is that humans made leaps with their technology."

"I have to get my belongings." Smith narrowed his eyes at the robot. "Excuse me, butthead."

The Robot slid aside.

"What did my counterpart do to you?" The Robot asked. 

Smith glared back at the Robot. 

"You failed is what happened," Smith said. "Failed protecting the women from _a threat_."

Smith went past the confused Robot and retrieved his belongings from the space pod. Smith towed the three boxes over to the elevator then pressed a button. The Robot tagged along going to the side getting in the way. Smith's eyes were sharpened daggers in the direction of the Robot then minded his way in. He slid the shoulder strap up to his duffel bag. With a press of a button, the elevator went down. Smith looked around in awe as though he had been struck with something fascinating. Watching something remarkable happen before his eyes like it were a act of god. Smith opened the door then slid his way on out.

"Which room was Zachary's?" Smith asked, softly.

"That one,"  The Robot said, directing to the last room on the right. 

"Direct me to a empty quarters that was not your friends room," Smith said. Then Smith added, "That's a order."

The Robot directed Smith to a different set of quarters. 

"This is visitors deck C," The Robot said. 

"So many decks aboard a small space ship," Smith said, opening the door. "A small, cozy and harmless room." 

Smith wheeled in the boxes then dropped the luggage beside them. He pressed a button that sent the bed sliding down as he cupped his hands together. Smith fell onto the bed snoozing away. The Robot slid up the back of Smith's navy blue shirt then scanned the man's green-gray back. He slid the shirt back down then his arms yanked back into its center. The Robot wheeled out quickly from Smith's room as a bad feeling settled in its sensors. The Robot closed the door while computing the nature of what Smith was becoming.


	18. Chapter 18

"Good morning, honey," John said, a arm placed around the tired woman.

Maureen stretched her legs snuggling against the man's hairy chest.

"Is it morning so quickly?" Maureen asked.

"Sadly," John said, grazing his hand along Maureen's cheek. "I will get up when you're up."

"John," Maureen said. "It's your turn to make the coffee."

"Looks like we're stuck in a corner," John said.

"How do we get out of this?" Maureen asked.

"I say we walk out of it together," John said. "And hope for the best."

Maureen's eyes lit up and a smile grew on her face.

"Quite a romantic," Maureen said, as they rested their foreheads together on the large pillow. "How about we both get up?"

"That is very ideal," John said.

With much reluctance, John and Maureen got out of bed at the same time then took out their clothing for the morning. John was the first up from bed and Maureen came after him. They were the first ones to come out of their room then made their way to the bathroom. The camera panned over to Penny stirring in her sleep tossing and turning. It went over to Will who had his arm covering his eyes. The scene went over to the Robot observing Smith making eggs singing. He had several plates that were covered resting on the table. It was John and Maureen came to the doors in purple outfits that had orange undershirts. They noticed the doctor was singing. Their looks of concern were replaced by relieved expressions.

"Good morning, Professor, Mrs Robinson," Smith greeted them.

"What's made you in a good mood, Smith?" John asked. Smith turned eyes toward them and had a smile in return.

"Just the desire to cook something," Smith said. "Your plates have been made," he continued gently stirring the scrambled eggs. "I got the hang of this equipment. Outdated, and very reliable. Just what I like."

"You mean to say that your Jupiter 2 didn't take kind of equipment?" John asked, almost mortified. 

"Their Jupiter 2 was bells and whistles," Smith said. "Thankfully, I never had the luxury of cooking for them. I fed myself."

"And how much did you use?" John asked.

"Just the bare necessity," Smith said. "Consider yourself lucky that everything _works_."

"Believe me when I say we do," Maureen said, as she sat down. "So did you find a flying farm house?"

"A flying farm house," Smith said, with a laugh. "What in space were you on?" he looked over with a baffled look.

"Let's just say the incident had plants that ate Deutronium," John said.

"Fuel eating plants," Smith said. "How remarkable. If there were any, I wasn't paying attention."

"You mean to say you never met a werewolf?" John asked.

"Werewolf, now, Professor?" Smith said. "You know that is the stuff of fantasy."

"I used to think that until I saw one with my two eyes," John said. "Threatening and highly dangerous. Unable to control themselves at the rising of a full moon." Maureen looked back at the memory with a shudder.

Smith placed the eggs into the plate then placed the pan on the adjoining counter. He placed the lid on the top of the plate.

"You ever seen a kraken before?" Smith asked.

John regarded the man for a long moment as he leaned back into the chair.

"No," John said.

"It's more terrifying than a werewolf," Smith recounted. "Just when you think you're out of its grasp, one of its arms grabs hold and yanks it back," he had a haunted demeanor about him.  He remembered being pinned down against the wall by equipment. The screams of the children being carried down the hall as flashes of lightning stormed outside. "The power goes out." the room enveloped into darkness. "All you see is darkness and there is screaming. Makes it difficult to get anything done." The screaming stopped as Smith made his way out of the collision then toward the window using the wall panels as his support. "I won't forget watching a beautiful creature die. Even as dangerous as it was. You don't forget hearing the dying screams of a creature as it falls down. That was on a planet with a wild, stormy sea that encompassed the entire planet."

"What is the point?" John asked.

"I wouldn't go to blue class M planet if I were you," Smith said. "Nor a empty vessel with sacks decorating it. Just avoid it. That's all I recommend."

"Are you sure?" Maureen asked.

"The other planets are just as threatening as this," Smith said. "Not like there is one eyed giants walking around."

"There's a good chance of it," John said.

"Good. . . goood. . . . good chance of it?" Smith asked, his skin paling and visibly trembling. 

"Uh huh," John said.

The Robot came down the ramp.

"Robot, is there any giants around?" Maureen asked.

"On my last scan from above, there were four hundred thirty-four giants," Smith slipped out of the chair falling to the floor.  The Robot turned toward Smith then toward them. "Did I miss something?"

John and Maureen exchanged a bemused glance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love John and Maureen together. They are so soft and loving and affectionate and---it's just a beautiful relationship that came out of Lost in Space. I LOVE THIS OLD SHIP. It's aged so well, and it still has their loving, caring message still shown over time.


	19. Chapter 19 (Aka the Galgaran chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter that flashes back to the Galgaran event in the 1998 LiS.
> 
> Pronunciation: Kal-gal-re-rain.
> 
> This became longer then necessary but it was absolutely necessary.

"My delicate back won't allow me to help you, Major," Smith said.

"Can't or don't want to?" Don asked.

"Can't," Smith said.

"We're stuck here until we get enough fuel to get off," Don said. "and I doubt that we are going to get out of here without help," Don stepped forward, and Smith hid behind the Robot. "As much as I hate it, we have to work together."

"Any physical work might be taxing on my infection," Smith insisted. "You could always do this in the morning."

"Professor Robinson wants us to get it ready for construction," Don said. "We can get rid of any animals that could be larger. Night is the best time to frighten them."

"How about I be the bait?" Smith offered.

"As much as I like to use you as bait, that has already been put off the table," Don said.

"It's not off mine," Smith said. "Consider that my way of helping you. I can use my skills to the advantage."

"Which is running away," Don said. "Now how can someone with a delicate back run so far?"

"Because running doesn't take effort on the spine," Smith said. "Now, hand me the mini forcefield generators and I will set up the perimeter-" he ducked a punch from Don.

"Warning, Doctor Smith," The Robot announced. "You have angered Major West."

"I am not going to do your work," Don said.

"And here I thought you would enjoy seeing me being chased by space coyotes," Smith remarked, raising his head up as the Robot held out its claws that were cackling electricity back at Don. "Wouldn't you want my suffering to be ended before I became that. . ." he shook his right hand animatedly. " _thing_?"

"Don't say that," Don said. "You're going to get cured and face justice."

"In that order, really?" Smith asked, earning dead silence from Don. "I thought so. Let me do the hard work."

"Holding the generators are not hard work," Don said.

"It is when you expect a saboteur to destroy them," Smith said. "That is hard work."

"I wish we had fixed the Chariot earlier," Don said. "I keep forgetting to fix it."

"The Chariot can be fixed in the morning after the trip," Smith said.

Don smacked his hand into his fist.

"You're no hero, Smith," Don said, then walked off.

Smith didn't relax standing behind the Robot.

"I know, I know," Smith replied.

Smith stepped off the Robot then looked toward the large figure coming over to him.

The older Blarp patted on his head with a yawn.

Smith's demeanor changed before the tall gorilla like being that changed color to pitch black in the scenery. It almost screamed his soul back at him. Dark as night, uncaring for the world to see, and full of dark intentions. One would find it difficult to live with him stranded in space and Don was finding that out fast. Smith lifted the large finger off his head. The older Blarp patted on its stomach then gently rubbed on it. Blarp reached out grabbing hold onto Smith's wrist then yanked him over against her warm, soft stomach. Smith heard the heart beat of the baby. The baby Blarp was kicking into the side of his face. Smith leaned himself off the stomach with his hands pressed against it and looked up toward the older Blarp. The day of arrival was coming. He could tell because there was discomfort in Blarp's large, kind eyes.

"Pain," the older Blarp replied. "Pain."

A look of understanding grew on his face as he looked up then nodded in return.

"Prepare medical bay for surgery, Robot," Smith said.

"I was ordered to go along with you," The Robot said.

"Emergency C-Section," the Robot's head bobbed up. "Catalogue everything it has and tell me if the Jupiter 2 has the necessary equipment for it after my return." The Robot's head bobbed down. Smith patted on the older Blarp's stomach lightly. Smith glared over toward the Robot. "Do you understand?"

"Affirmative," The Robot replied, simply.

"Go on," Smith said, dismissively.

The Robot turned around then wheeled away from Smith. Don came into the room carrying a bag and several long tubes in his other arm. Smith speed walked to Don's side with a soft, "I'll take that" taking the large bag from Don's hand. Smith held the heavy bag in both arms then strolled his way toward the doors. Don appeared to be mystified at Smith's unbothered walking demeanor. Don shook his head, annoyed. He followed after Smith taking the flash light device from his jacket pocket. The two sets of doors opened before him that displayed Smith at the bottom of the platform waiting patiently.

* * *

The walk away from the Jupiter 2 was productive. They walked side by side surrounded by a pool of light that followed their every movements. Smith whistled, merrily, strolling slowly down the path. Don looked down to the Deutronium detector. Smith had a confident walk compared to the distracted, uncoordinated walk. Smith stepped away out of the man's path that started to seem deliberate. Smith looked ahead noticing there was a faint line ahead of them. Was that a cliff side? He couldn't be sure, but it was reasonable to check. Smith walked on ahead of Don then approached the distant line. The distant line turned to rocky edges with tree roots and pointy rocks that stood out. His eyes had little difficulty adjusting to the darkness noticing the details-- the biggest detail being that there was a landing at the bottom consisting a collection of dead leaves.

Smith looked over toward the approaching man and back over to what had garnered his attention. Smith stepped aside then waited to see whether or not the man would turn away. It was almost comical watching Don walk right pass him. Don stepped forward then fell down a ravine. Smith stopped then looked down in shock watching Don roll down the hill calling his name. Don came to a stop at the bottom of the ravine. Smith came speeding down the ravine then came over by his side.

"Are you alright, Major?" Smith asked.

"Shiiiiiitttt," Don said, clutching onto his knees.

"There are better words for a man your age to say," Smith said.

"MY LEGS!" Don shouted.

Smith looked down toward the man's legs to see there was several long sticks piercing through his pant legs.

"You're fine," Smith said, turning his gaze toward Don. "Perfectly fine."

"You let me fall!" Don said.

Smith raised a eyebrow in return.

"Why would I let the most experienced pilot fall to his death?" Smith asked.

"I haven't thought of that part," Don said. "MY LEG!"

"Let's sit back and relax until the pain goes away," Smith said.

"No, take it out," Don said.

"There is no bleeding," Smith said, gesturing toward the injury in the pant legs. "You don't want bleeding. If I remove it, I risk getting you infected or massive blood loss." he placed his hands onto his lap. "I would normally remove it but I did not bring a medical bag with me for this trip. Which is making me consider starting to do that," Smith surveyed the injuries. "After we get back, I will have to fix these wounds in med bay."

" _If_ we get back," Don said. "You're going to be eaten by space coyotes and all you can think is that you're going to make it. Then I am going to be eaten."

"Even though I am bound by my fear, I must plan ahead should I escape the talons of death," Smith said. "I tend to have abnormal luck."

"Abnormal luck," Don said, then he laughed looking toward the night sky. "I hate you."

"Right back at you," Smith replied. "Tell me, how do you figure that you're going to explain this over to the Robot?"

"You let me," Don said, glaring over toward Smith.

"Fair enough," Smith said, with a nod.

Smith had his back against the rocky terrain then briefly rested his eyes.

If he were going to get up and continue their trek, he would rather do it with a much agreeable Don.

Patience was one of many things in Smith's career that could still be applied in space.

The damage the man suffered in the legs wouldn't effect him in the long run should he make it on his own to the Jupiter 2. It would also hinder Don from getting there successfully should he go without help. Smith's luck was abnormal. So abnormal it had brought in the opportunity to establish with Don that he could be trusted with making sure he got back to the Jupiter 2 when injured. Smith had played the coward card multiple times and this time was different as there was no children nearby, no Robot nearby, or a helpful older gorilla to witness the change in his character. He could get away with Major seeing a deviation of his usual characteristic. Smith opened his eyes looking at the alien constellations above that seemed to have different shapes. He stared at the night sky with many regards to it. After what was thirty-three minutes, Don finally spoke.

"According to the scanner, there is a bed of Deutronium in the area that the long range sensors detected," Don said, using the ground as his support as he stood up.

Smith helped the man up to his feet.

"Careful, Major," Smith said. "Don't want those sticks going in deeper."

"Why the--" Don reached down to his foot as it stung in pain

"I think you sprained a foot," Smith said.

"I am fixing that Chariot," Don said.

"This wouldn't have happened if you paid attention where you were going," Smith put Don's arm on his shoulder then reached up and picked his bag up.

"Uh huh and it wouldn't be my fault that we were lost in space in the first place," Don said.

"Spare me the poisonous barbs, Major," Smith said, then followed a trail according the directions that Don was giving.

The collection of their materials were in the ravine. Smith spared them a glance and made a mental note to retrieve them on his run back to the Major. Just in case the fleeing from the space coyotes round about here. He saw a distinctive path ahead that was a slope. A perfect place to kill a bunch of space coyotes without anyone seeing him or scare them off, preferably. Coyotes were important to the ecosystem and could be in the process of being extinct. Hitting them with the pipes would do the trick to ending the chase. He turned his attention forward.

* * *

"Smith, stop!" Don said.

Smith placed Don onto a boulder and relaxed.

"Ooooh, that's a load off my back," Smith said, leaning forward tipping his head up and placed his hands onto his back with care.

Don looked on ahead.

"Uh huh," Don said, looking on ahead. "The fuel is right where that pack is."

Smith took out the forcefield controller.

"I will drop the bag in to the clearing," Smith replied. He handed the light emitters onto Don's backside. He straightened up the long propelling sticks side by side. Don flinched as the contraption pinched against his skin. Don could see a big flash of light where Smith's head should be. His eyes adjusted to see that the light acted as a halo behind him. Smith was no angel. "As soon as I and the space coyotes are gone, turn on the protective field. Wait there."

"This would be much easier if we brought the laser pistols," Don said.

"You can get away with killing one, Major," Smith said, then walked on ahead toward the coyotes. "It would be a waste of your ammunition to kill them all. One shot would do for you to spare yourself." A rock hit the back of Smith's head. Smith rubbed the back of his head, then shifted himself toward Don. Don was lightly bouncing a pebble on the palm of his hand with a murderous look. "So they won't eat you alive!"

Smith turned away from Don then mockingly remarked to himself, " _OOoh, I can't die, I got a girlfriend to think about. It's all your fault, Smith!_ " and shook his head. Smith turned off his light with a flick of a switch. Smith swiftly ducked out of Don's line of sight. It was hard to track him from the distance if it weren't for the long moving stick above Smith. The stick zipped among the foliage making it hard to determine which was the stick. Don focused his eyes as he propped himself further searching for any sign of Smith. The sound of high pitch yip-howls came to be. Don watched a bright light run away from from the pack. A loud scream that sounded like Don's rank came from the distance. Don slowly hopped way to the Deutronium hotbed. Keeping his balance was difficult if not for the help of nearby trees. Each time he put his foot onto the ground, it stung like hell.

* * *

One moment, Smith was running for his life from the coyotes, the next moment he was in a dark spaceship that was rounded. He looked around feeling trapped. He came to a bulky console that had a colorful flatscreen on it. He looked from it to see a centered chair. Across from the chair on the red wall was a sign of a star with many points. The dark chair was on a elevated platform. The sound of crowd cheering came from behind him. Smith jumped landing onto the chair in front of the console. His light wavering as he looked around in primal fear. Something didn't sit right here. It felt like he was being watched.

Smith saw a white door appear then a short man entered the room.

Smith had a high pitched, terrified scream.

"I am the Great Amaga," Amaga said. "I can fulfill anything you want after you defeat a opponent."

"Anything?" Smith asked, getting off the chair.

"Anything," Amaga said, with a smile.  
  
"Anything. . . "Smith repeated. "Really?"  
  
"I give you my word," Amaga said, raising his hand.

"Give me a few minutes," Smith said. "I need to think."

"You have all the time in the world," Amaga said, as Smith turned away from the man.

Smith walked absentmindedly into a circle rubbing his chin and his gazed fixated on to the floor. He seemed to be torn between two decisions. Smith sat down into the chair. Minutes were ticking by as he considered it. Amaga was startled to see that a certain someone - who had not thought about telling the companion about a break in the path- was _considering._ Smith sighed, looking up toward the alien individual. He stood up then walked right over.  
  
"I decline," Smith said.  
  
"You will regret saying no," Amaga said. "They always do."  
  
"I _will_ regret it," Smith said. "But I won't regret recommending someone who will not regret saying yes."  
  
"A member of the party," Amaga said.  
  
"Professor Robinson," Smith said. "Not Mrs Robinson. Easy to get them mixed up as they are both professors. It's _Mr_ Robinson and he is in the Jupiter 2. They are sleeping right now so I recommend you pay a visit to the Robinsons in the morning."

Amaga smiled then took out a small device and Smith was gone with the press of a button.

* * *

Don waited in the generated forcefield that protected him from the prowling space coyotes.

They had a more exotic, terrifying aesthetic to them than the ones on Earth

Except for having four ears that were more wider and pointier making them look sleek.

That Don knew because one had its head extremely close to the forcefield.

Don put his hand where his laser pistol would be only to find there was nothing there. It had been expected to be a quick mission and very easy. The confidence that John had regarding the mission was not ordinary. As was most of the Robinson family with their quirks and flaws. More times than not their special interests saved the day in the past few weeks out in space. He saw the glowing eyes of the coyotes surrounding him. It became clear that Smith had been cornered and eaten alive. He could imagine Smith's undignified screams as they packed on tearing into him. Unlike Smith, Don had a small gun attached to his ankle.

His last few moments of life were going to be spent surrounded by coyotes. To think Don used to believe he would die out in space by a member of the Global Sedition committing suicide rather than planet-side in his career. His efforts to protect the in-progress Hyper Gate was greatly appreciated which resulted in his promotion. Don considered using the gun in his long boots to not suffer the same death that Smith had encountered. Suddenly, one of the coyotes yipped loudly. Don saw coyotes being kicked away from the forcefield and the distinctive human. There were several moving shapes blending in to each other in a way that was unable to be determined what was going on. He heard the coyotes running away becoming distant noises. The sounds of paws running away became smaller and smaller to his ears. Don began to doubt Smith was dead. Don heavily considered the idea resting in the center of the forcefield rubbing his chin.

"Major!" Smith's voice was distant. "Major!" Smith's voice closer and closer. "Major!"

"I'm right here, Smith," Don replied, hit with relief to see the halo-ed face appear.

"I retrieved most of the pipes," Smith said, as Don turned off the forcefield. The pipes were discarded in the center of the field. "Only after getting bitten." he held up his swollen, bleeding right hand covered in blood. Smith shuddered, shaking his head. "Oh, the pain. The pain."

"How did you just get bitten and not killed?" Don asked.

"I was transported by a rude and highly generous alien into their lair," Smith said. "They made me a offer."

"And my name is not Don West," Don said. "You accepted it."

"I declined," Smith said.

"Every time we met a alien and you cross paths with it as of lately, you've stabbed us in the back," Don said. "So excuse me for not believing you."

"That is forgiven," Smith said. "I reappeared right above the pipes and won't you know? There were two waiting for me," Smith wrapped a large crinkly leaf against his hand. "Kicked them off, used the pipes to knock one of them out, and then one of them bite into my hand. My hand!" Smith looked down grimly toward his hand that he was cupping then back up toward Don. "I was busy assessing my hand when I heard the coyotes headed my way. When I looked up, they were jumping over me and running for their little, petty lives."

"After they left, you climbed up the embankment and followed where they came," Don said.

"True to my word, I upheld my part," Smith said, with one hand on his chest.

"That must have been really difficult to do with a bleeding hand, " Don said, as Smith's attention lifted up toward him.

"You have no idea," Smith said.

"I got a idea," Don said. "Very good idea."

"Let's get started on digging," Smith said. "Shall we?" Smith took out a extendable shovel from the bag then tossed it to Don.

"Are you playing with me?" Don asked. "You don't help me when I ask."

"I have adrenaline running through my veins with the DNA of a mutant spider, Major," Smith replied.

"So your back cooperates," Don said "This is not how you are going to spend the rest of your time out in space."

"Taking advantage of what the Jupiter 2 has is all you have," Smith said, then unhooked the light emitter attached to Don's back. Smith detached his own then set the packs alongside each other against a slab of rock. Smith dusted his hands off. "I don't like it as you do."

* * *

"Morning, Robot," Will said, coming out of his quarters.  
  
"Good morning, Will Robinson," The Robot greeted Will. "We have another member of the Jupiter 2 that weighs four pounds."  
  
"Wow, that's so cool!" Will said. "Another Blarp."  
  
"It has been brought to my attention that it should be named Blarp Junior by Penny Robinson," The Robot said, his head whirring and his grill glowed while rolling down the hall. "The C-section successfully concluded with Blarp Prime's condition remaining stable. I was able to give Blarp stimulants to wake it up."  
  
"Who did the surgery?" Will asked.  
  
"Doctor Smith," The Robot said.  
  
"Didn't dad say that he can't perform surgery last night because he got high?" Will asked.  
  
"That was a one time thing," The Robot turned its head toward Will. "It was a great mistake. Even to make the Kiss Bliss."  
  
"Med bay is full of temptations to go back into that high," Will said. "Making them not go back is difficult in the first few days."  
  
"I oversaw Doctor Smith's operation," The Robot said. "Then escorted him into his quarters."  
  
"You mean towed him," Will said, looking up toward the Robot.  
  
"I did not need to pick him up by the shirt collar," The Robot replied. "he was tired and he agreed that he needed the rest."  
  
"It seems that Doctor Smith is going soft," Will said.  
  
"Humans are soft," The Robot said. "They cannot get any softer."  
  
"I mean he's lost his intimidating teeth," Will said. "I mean, he's a funny character to be around and threatening at the same time."  
  
"It becomes difficult to believe that he was a failed terrorist," The Robot finished.  
  
"Did it feel that way back in your past?" Will asked.  
  
"For a time, it did," The Robot said, coming to a stop. "I could have changed it and made it better. I had all the opportunity in the world to stop it from becoming a thing," its head whirred toward Will. "Twenty years worth of opportunity. I am as to blame as Doctor Smith."  
  
"Don't say that," Will said.  
  
"It is fact," The Robot said.  
  
"That guilt can kill you," Will said.  
  
"Will Robinson, I am a Robot," The Robot reminded him, his head bobbing up. "I cannot be fried by my merged sensors." The Robot placed his hand onto Will's shoulder. "As Doctor Smith of my timeline once said, I am a timeless companion and always will be there no matter the outcome. Feelings cannot take me."  
  
Will smiled, looking up toward the taller robot visibly comforted by the thought.  
  
"If you say so, Robot," Will said. "Is he still in his quarters?"

"Affirmative," The Robot said. "his vitals indicate that he is sleeping in. Baaaad hangover."

The two resumed their trek down the hall as the two laughed. Will could smell the delicious scrambled eggs from afar. Penny and Judy were outside setting the table up. Don was laughing in amusement at a joke that had been shared by Maureen. Maureen smacked the machine. The machine's red lights kicked on and blue flickering flames heated up the pan. There were times where Maureen wanted to try cooking the old fashioned 21st century style rather than having to get a packet and heat it up. There was only so much she could stand the repetitive way of life on the Jupiter 2. She looked over with a smile toward Will then gave a wave.

"Good morning, Will," Maureen said.

"Morning, mom," Will said.

"Smith is still sleeping?" John asked.

"Still sleeping," Will said.

"He had a really long operation with older Blarp," Don said.

"He could have been incompetent to perform surgery," John said. "It's a miracle that he took care so easily. "

"Like he wasn't on withdraw," Don said. "I don't know how he did it but he left himself a stash in that med bay."

"I will check med bay for any stash that Doctor Smith has hidden," The Robot said.

"Robot, did he have a stash in your timeline?" John asked.

"Yes," The Robot said. "And I will supervise his withdraw. I have done it before and I will do it, again."

The Robot wheeled into the Jupiter 2 leaving Will's side. Don snickered, shaking his head at the Robot's reply. Will came down the platform then came to his seat. Will looked over to the seemingly absent crew member. It was strange that Smith wasn't there. In fact, it felt wrong. Like Smith was supposed to be there taking most of the eggs for himself then be scolded and put back the correct amount of eggs. Will shook his head then turned his attention onto the plate. The Robinsons and Don sat down at the table. John picked up his fork then abruptly vanished before their eyes.

"John!" Maureen called.

Don was the first one to get up from the table in alarm then sped his way toward the entrance of the Jupiter 2. Maureen followed after Don. Penny squeaked holding onto Blarp. Blarp turned a shade of brown matching Penny's aesthetic. The older Blarp came out of the Jupiter 2 then strolled its way to the distant towering forest near a waterfall. The two Blarp's ignored the situation that was unfolding. It wasn't several minutes later did John reappear at the front of the table holding onto his fork appearing to be smiling. Will stood up from the seat then sped over as did Penny and the siblings collided against John. Judy gasped, then ran in to the Jupiter 2 to gather the rest of the Robinsons.

"Dad!" They said, in unison.

"The Jupiter 2 and her crew are going to Alpha Prime," John said. "In our time."

The children looked with shocked expressions.

* * *

"I can believe why you passed and The Robot," Don said.

"I am staying," Smith said, flatly.

Don looked at Smith.

"It's what you deserve," Don said. "Hopefully, you might get your cure."

"I have high hopes that I will find that cure," Smith said, with a nod then finished packing what new belongings he had acquired over the past few weeks as part of the Jupiter 2.

"Do you have any regrets?" Don said.

Smith looked over toward Don.

"Humor me," Don said, folding his arms and leaning into the desk chair across from Smith.

"The dysfunctional family got back together as a healthy, functional family," Smith began. "you and Judy became a thing, Penny is being responsible, and you've collected decades worth of alcohol from the planets we passed. Will's other counterpart reconstructed The Robot then gave him to you." Smith zipped up the bag. Smith paused, mostly in consideration. If he had come when they were happy as a family then making them be lost in space, the feelings about his part in the matter would be rather strong. "Just to think killing Captain Daniels was the nucleus of your happiness. I want to regret it, truly. . ." Smith observed the motionless Major. "I can't. Not right now. I have no regrets, Major."

Smith sucked in a breath then walked past Don. Don's eyes darting from side to side as though he had been hit with a very difficult math problem that couldn't be solved easily. The doors closed behind Smith. Don looked up from the floor then sped out of the room, "SMMIIIITH!" Don went from the galley, residential deck, medical bay, and other parts of the ship searching for the man even to the bridge. Smith was no where to be seen aboard the Jupiter 2. It was though he had beamed out of the Jupiter 2. Smith had kept back that tiny piece of information. Half a month that he had spent around a murderer. Someone who had murdered his close friend.

There were few things that Don had thought he wouldn't find himself in. Finding the unexpected departure of Smith into thin air as troubling right after a deal had been made to send everyone home. He should be happy, but a half of Don didn't feel relieved as he should be. Smith couldn't have gone far. A depressed, highly emotional man in withdraw could only mean trouble and misery. Smith retained his typical composure like it were a mask to shield himself. And the more Don thought about it, the more it made sense that Smith was approached by Global Sedition. He had looked around the area around the Jupiter 2. The Robot was no where to be seen. It strangely had vanished shortly after Smith according to Will.

"Don," Judy said, coming in the way of Don in the hallway. "Part of the deal was not being around before or after the match."

"I get that," Don said. "What I don't get is taking him _and_ the Robot. That's just overkill."

"The boxing session is supposed to be in the next five minutes," Judy said. "Smith is making himself some kiss bliss and laughing at you for being concerned."

"Probably," Don said, the thought easing his concerns.

He typed into the control panel to Smith's door.

"But mom told me that his room didn't have protocols," Judy said.

"We can trust him with being a doctor," Don said. "Outside of that, we can't trust him. The other him. . ." Don stopped, looking back at the memory. "Worse came to pass." Judy placed a hand on his shoulder then squeezed it.

"I'm here for you, Don," Judy said. "Take all the time you need."

Judy walked away from Don.

"All the time I need," Don said, his eyes stuck on the screen.

John had given him the order to delete the protocols from Smith's quarters before the man had vanished. Don stopped, reaching his hand back. Perhaps he didn't need to delete them right this minute. He had a feeling that Smith wasn't quite lost to the Jupiter 2. Don turned from the door then followed after Judy.

* * *

The Robinsons stepped foot out of the Jupiter 2 and then they were at a stadium. John was no where to be seen alongside Maureen. John reappeared below in boxer briefs being prepped by assistants. The Robinson family came to the middle of the bleachers that had a good view of the boxing ring. Will looked over expecting to hear the loud compliments from Smith regarding the aliens depiction of Earth's version of physical yet fake entertainment. In the blink of a eye, hundreds of spectators ranging in species appeared in the seats making it change from a empty room to a crowded room. Amaga appeared in the center of the boxing ring then a long pole came from above lowering itself to the center. Amaga was donned in black and white referee outfit with a cape attached to his shoulders.

"Hello, I'm your referee," Amaga introduced himself. "Each time John Robinson punches my lovely associate, the Galgaran, he gets to see anything that _could_ happen to those in the family should he defeat him. . . but it won't be chronologically." he gestured to John. The crowd booed. "And if he gets punched?" there were loud cheers. "He sees stars." 

The camera turned toward a path where there was loud, cheerful Scottish music being played. Will noticed there was a glass window from behind then felt as though he were being watched. Will waved back at the mirror, gleefully then Don shoved him down with a forceful hand. Don looked over, warily, in the direction that Will had his attention in. Bags of popcorn appeared in the groups lap. In Blarp's hands appeared a collection of fruit. Will tossed the first kernel into his mouth watching with anticipation. A cloaked figure came out of the path that blocked line of sight who was short and covered by a dark green and faded gray cloak. The figure came onto the center of the stage then let the cloak fall.

John looked down.

"Really?" John asked. "This is a child. I don't hit children."

The Galgaran became taller reaching up to John's height.

"I do," the Galgaran had a soft, small voice.

"That's not a child," Amaga said. "this is a adult!"

The Galgaran punch John at the face sending him falling back.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Don said. "It hasn't started."

"There's no rules for a death match," Amaga said, glancing toward the roaring spectators.

John looked on ahead to see a gravely concerned Maureen then turned his attention onto the Galgaran.

"Alright," John said, getting up. "Let's see what you have."

"Splendid," Amaga said, then vanished from the center of the boxing ring.

John ducked then punched the Galgaran at the face.

_"I am making a parting gift for the Robinsons," John saw Smith in a colorful outfit while above a console with a grim look on his face."It won't try to harm them."  
_

The Galgaran snorted then delivered a sucker punch knocking John down to the floor.

"Ow, that has to hurt," Don said.

"You can do it, my love," Maureen said, encouragingly.

"Come on, dad!" Penny shouted, as she stuffed popcorn into her face. "DAD, DAD, DAD, WIN WIN WIN WIN!"

John propped himself up then delivered another punch to the Galgaran.

_"Get your pointy ass out of my face!" There was some kind of Chariot being driven under the cover of night. The stars and moon displayed figures moving in the front of the transport that had clear see through windows.  
_

_"I have a rounded butt,_ Major! _"  John recognized Smith's voice._

John delivered another when the Galgaran got close right into the upper torso.

_"PENNY!" Smith shouted, reaching his hand out for a young woman's hand.  
_

_And another._

_"Madame, you best start packing," Smith hid beside the doors. "your unhappy friend is coming this way."_

John delivered another punch. _  
_

_"Don, there is nothing wrong with this plastic horse," a young woman with dark hair tipped a toy horse forward._

"YOU DID IT, DAD!" Will cheered. _  
_

_"A doll trying to strangle you?" A red head looked down questionably. "That must have been your imagination."_

_"But it wasn't!" the red headed child replied. "Doctor Smith saw it too."_

_"And where is he?" the mother asked._

_"He stayed behind," the child replied._

_"He is napping," the mother replied.  "Don't want to disturb a helpful man."_

"Watch out!" Don called. "The Galgaran is headed your way with a chair!" _  
_

_"And then she said that we'll stay this way until. . ." The view was on the same young boy who seemed to be speaking  and he stopped speaking looking back at the memory finding it amusing.  
_

John punched at a nerve sending the Galgaran down. _  
_

_"Robot, I am the threat. Scan me. We are connected. See the truth? Now do it!"  
_

John punched him down. _  
_

_"MOM, MOM, MOM!" The old robot turned and twirled in a circle. "I killed Doctor Smith's double!"_

Don and the women cheered John on as  Smith watched from the chair rubbing along his goatee. _  
_

_"WILL ROBINSON, DANGER! DANGER. DANGER!"_

John delivered a blow that sent the Galgaran against the rope. The Galrgaran charged forward. _  
_

_"If you do not hand them over, you will be my slave." It was a strange voice._

_"As long as they can leave without your eyes on them, I will not do such thing,"  It was Smith. He looked worn, weathered, and like he had gone through a storm. He was in a colorful outfit that seemed to be torn. The sides of his cheeks were covered in dirt. He had scratches where there were not before. A long scar that trailed down his right eyebrow to the corner of his mouth. His goatee had turned into a full grown beard. There was a purple hand grasped around his neck. "I will never lead them to you."_

_"Then never is now," the purple woman replied, forcibly squeezing his neck._

John fell to the ground landing on his side. _  
_

_". . . Professor," Smith started. Smith had his hands on a well used piece of luggage while leaning from the other side of the room that was blocked by the door. His long scar was apparent from the side of his face. His beard had been trimmed away. "it seems you were never supposed to help me."_

_The view turned toward a man with dark hair and colorful shirt._

_"I know. . . And I don't like it."_

_"You did your best trying. That's the thought that counts. Remember that."_

John was handed a dagger by a assistant.

"Get him," his assistant said, patting on his shoulder.

"I don't play unfair against my opponent," John said, in disgust dropping the dagger. He took a large sip from a glass then charged on forward.

_"PROFESSOR ROBINSON, WE ARE IN THE BEASTS BELLY."_

John shielded himself from the punches then gave one to the face. _  
_

_"Get Smith!"  
_

The Galgaran screamed in pain. _  
_

_"We're not leaving without him!"  
_

John sent two consecutive punches to the face.

_"Thank you, Zach," John saw a man looking out the window with a figure slowly approaching._

John slammed the Galgaran down to the ground by jumping on his side against it. _  
_

_"Colonel Smith, you are under arrest!"_

The Galgaran fell down after standing back up to face him.  _  
_

"Yes, yes, yes," Penny said, shaking her fists then watched it soar toward him

_"The Robinsons. . ." Smith stopped short emotionally. "Are the most kind, compassionate family I ever met. Making me be part of it," he shook his head.  "It makes me sad knowing that we don't have the hope they did . . I feel like I did not deserve them. I didn't and then I did. Because of them, I finally felt human again. I had hope by my side. People who supported me. Something I lacked when I left this forsaken planet." Smith sat back down into a chair in his funeral suit cupping his hands together onto his lap._

_Smith looked over his shoulder, almost as though sensing John's presence._

John delivered another blow at the disoriented Galgaran.

_"Welcome back to Earth, Jupiter 2. Alpha Control has been waiting for you. . ."_

The Galgaran stopped moving.

"Professor Robinson has won!" Amaga said, coming over to John's side.

John looked up as his fist was raised in the air.

"Doctor Smith is not part of my family," John said.

Amaga looked over toward John, shocked.

"Well, someone thinks otherwise," Amaga said, his eyes gazing over toward Will. He turned toward John. "Congratulations," Amaga added with a thin, yet wide smile. "you are going home."

John looked on toward his family and slowly began to smile. 

Everything that could happen wasn't going to happen.

For the first time in weeks that fragile hope spurred into flames.

 _The Robinsons were going home_ , John figured as he waved back at his joyful family.

* * *

The Jupiter 2 was glowing with hope. All except for one person, Will Robinson. Will was gazing out his window playing with the control bolt in his hands. It was a item that Will had picked up as a memento before their departure from the old, aged Jupiter 2. To think that he was never going  to see the Robot or Smith was something that seemed to come hand in hand. Listening to the two bickering about something that Smith was going to do was nostalgic to him. Will could do with Robot sticking around and Smith gone. But both of them gone? It seemed bothersome. Irksome, at best. He looked toward the purple pinkish sky where there were two moons up ahead.  
  
The scene panned from the moons to the Jupiter 2's figure in the middle of a meadow then flew into it.  
  
"John?" Maureen said, as John came aboard the Jupiter wearing a disgusted look laced with trouble.  
  
"Hold off on lift off," John said.  
  
"I knew it," Don said. "They're playing dirty."  
  
"The kind of dirty you can't shake off," John said, then walked on out of the room heading toward the door.

"John," Maureen said, then followed after John.  "John!"  
  
Don looked over with a concerned look watching the Robinsons vanish from his line of sight.  
  
"Something must have spooked him," Penny said. "Before he left to meet with Amaga to discuss the method of transporting the Jupiter 2, he was so happy. Now, it's just gone." She wore a troubled look.  
  
"Smith'ed," Don said. "we've been Smith'ed, again."  
  
"Not everything is Smith's fault," Penny said.  
  
"Reconsider that," Don said. "How many times has he been the source of our problems?"  
  
"Many times," Penny said. "I mean it's a logical leap but from what I heard, he is supposed to be set inside a stasis pod until we left."  
  
"Smith in a stasis pod _willingly_ ," Don said, snickering. "Now that is something I would pay money to see."

"You might not have to," Penny said, as John and Maureen came back onto the bridge.

"We're going to get our passengers back," John said. "Don, find Amaga's underground lair with the sensors."

"We're what?" Don said, surprised.

"We're getting them back," John said, then he added, firmly.  "If we leave this planet, then we take our crew with us."

Don turned his attention away from  John with a sigh. "Aye, Professor," Don said, then turned on the sensors and inputted a command to search for two types of life.

The mutant spider DNA popped up holographically in the background from the center. The vague design of the robot alongside it appeared. Don got up from the chair then came over to the navigation center. John and Maureen were looking at the imagery. Penny ran off from the bridge calling for Will. Don zoomed in on the holographic screen making it seem closer and more visible of which place on the planet that their colleagues were. Will, Judy, and  Penny came back on the bridge as John was explaining the plan.

* * *

Amaga watched with interest.

Smith's belonging was transported back into the Jupiter 2 after the match as a little relic of what had been before their departure. Amaga was confident the Robinsons were going to accept the proposal. Set aside the look of horror and dismay that John had on his face after being told how this entire trip was going to be made possible. He was waiting for John to return. He sat in the chair reading a classic novel taking random glances at the floating screens around him. What he didn't know was that from below his ship, Don and John had sneaked in. The screen sizzled in between glances showing a looped video. The camera glanced over to a room full of various robots. Two figures darted past the robots that were in idle mode then came to a stop in front of one very familiar robot then put in a code.

"Major West, danger--" The Robot began, his grill glowing red.

"Robot, activate stealth mode,"  John said, in a soft and low voice.

The Robot's head bobbed up.

"Affirmative," The Robot's head was lowered and its glass colors dulled.

Don came behind.

"Where did they put Smith?" Don asked.

"I do not know," The Robot said. "We were separated after the match," its head twirled toward  John. "Good punches, Professor Robinson."

"Great," Don said, sarcastically.

"That map of the halls would come in handy," John spoke into a wrist device.

"I think I found one to where you want to go," Penny said.

"No, that's the biological lab room," Judy's voice came over. "You can tell because of the odd DNA in there that doesn't have spider in it."

"I said I think," Penny said. "It's in the security level. The stasis pods are protected by one hundred robot drones," she paused scanning the list. "and it seems they can be hacked by someone who knows their way around robots."

"I'll take care of that," Will replied.

"What level?"  John asked.

"Level three," Maureen said. "Be careful, John."

"I always am," John said, then tapped on the wrist communicator.

"Robot, you are to act as our shield," John said. "if we don't make then you don't."

"I will not fail the Robinsons this time," The Robot said, then wheeled out of the container. "Robot will protect Robinsons."

Don looked over toward the Robot.

"I admire your confidence," Don said.

The Robot's head turned toward Don.

"Spare me the jokes, Major," The Robot said, synthesizing Smith's voice then went on ahead. Don's eyes widened and his mouth fell open in shock as he looked both ways repeatedly as the Robot wheeled on ahead of him.

"Wait, he could do that this entire time?" Don said.

"Apparently," John said, following after the robot."It seems he has also rubbed off on the Robot."

"Also rubbed off?" Don asked. "Who else has he rubbed off on?"

Don followed after the small group. From the Jupiter 2, Will was hacking into the robots as the minutes were passing. He had hacked into five of them by the time they exited the large, square elevator to the third floor. A series of red lines appeared round the three. The Robot picked up Don with its back arm placing him onto its back  as the sound of drones were coming from around them. The other women's eyes widened at the screen. There were twenty figures headed after the small rescue team. 

"RUN TO THE RIGHT, TO THE RIGHT, TO THE RIGHT!" came their in-distinctive, panicked shouting.

The drones fired at the fleeing party. Don fired back at the drone robots as the  Robot wheeled away. The door slammed shut behind the three and the sounds of laser fire hit the door one after another loudly, distinctively. Don checked the ammo to see how much that was left. He had enough to get the out of dodge. John looked around in awe  ahead of the two. Don slid down the Robot's back then came to John's side. Don stopped, gaping, seeing ships hanging from the hangar all over. They shared a glance together placing their hands on the rail.  
  
"He has done this before," Don said. "And people lost their ships."  
  
"No," John said. "It's a graveyard."  
  
"I doubt that he would kill them aboard ship," Don said.    
  
"Amaga said I would regret declining," John said. "This is what he meant. How many families know their family members are never coming back? How many watched their ship fly away and never return? How many children watched their parents go off and never return?"  
  
"Jupiter 2, we're in the hangar section," Don said, into the wrist device.  
  
"You're in the trophy room," Maureen replied.  
  
John's skin turned pale.  
  
"Doctor Smith's lifesign is faint and still steady," Judy reported. "He is three corridors down."  
  
"I am taking care of that," Will insisted. "You can come out in . . . maybe. . . twenty minutes. Five if you can find a way through them."  
  
"Too many," The Robot replied, turned toward John.  "Too many children lost their parents."  
  
"What?" Maureen asked.  
  
"Nothing, honey," John said. "we're fine. Just lots of trophy's."  
  
"More than necessary," John said. "Jupiter 2 out."  
  
"I can send a distress signal to provide closure but I will need time to do it," The Robot said.  
  
 Don looked around.  
  
"This isn't what I thought I would be. . ." Don came over toward the holographic representation of a transport craft. "We have all the time in the world before Amaga notices."  
  
"Take it," John said.  
  
The Robot wheeled over to the console then tapped on the screens.  
  
"Hey, isn't that a Intergalactic Federal Vessel?" John asked, pointing toward a cage that had the neon red lit 'jail' on the top.  
  
Don came over.  
  
"It looks that way," Don said. "It is that way. Oh, he's in _big_ trouble. I think that's a super crime."

"Looks we got leverage over him," John  turned toward the Robot. "Robot, set a timer on when to send out the Jail Ship's distress call. Set it to thirty five minutes. Send the others immediately."

"Affirmative," The Robot replied, then resumed what it was doing.

"A timer?" Don said. "Why do we need a timer when we can get this over with?"

"I like to make him sweat," John said. "Just in case things won't go in our favor."

Don looked over and saw a bracket of guns.  
  
 "If he is going to make us sweat getting out of here then he has something coming," Don said, putting the gun into the sheath. He tossed a gun to John. "Different from ours."  
  
 "Different yet it has some style to it," John said.  
  
The Robot turned toward the two men.  
  
"Those guns do not require a DNA sample to be used," The Robot said. "You must use it wisely as one blast is capable of vaporizing anyone standing in its way," the two men looked down toward the guns then shared a nod with one another. "There is enough ammunition for five blasts per weapon."  
  
The Robot finished the remaining task on the screen then wheeled back. The Robot came over toward the door where it seemed to be waiting for the two men to follow him. John shared a final glance to the graveyard then followed after the Robot. He spoke into the wrist. With a soft series of clicks, the door flew open letting out a range of blasts. Don and John fired on the Robot drones. Two blazes wiped the remaining number down that hadn't wandered away under the control of Will. The group came to a stop at the corner of a corridor. John had his back to the wall, clenching onto his shoulder.  
  
"We should have gone with protective gear," Don said.  
  
"I'm fine," John said, briefly opening his eyes.  
  
"I'm not sure risking your life for Smith's is worth it," Don said. "The next shot might get you in the heart."  
  
"Risk is what colonizing is about," John said, unclenching his shoulder to let it freely bleed.  
  
The Robot placed it's claw onto John's injury, tightly applying pressure.  
  
"Robot," Don said, looking up toward the Robot.    
  
"My sensors indicate he is fully capable of going on," The Robot said. "Only after stopping the bleeding.  . ." The Robot's back arm detracted to reveal a sharp end of a laser. "This will end very quickly."

"Robot, no!" John insisted, as a blue light hit his injury. A steady stream of smoke came from the injury.  The laser was once more replaced by the large servo.

"Who installed you with that?" Don asked.  
  
"Will Robinson," The Robot said.  
  
"Thanks, Robot," John said.  
  
"You are welcome," The Robot said. "It was actually Judy's idea in the designing process."  
  
"Of course it was," John said, proudly.  
  
Don looked over.  
  
"It's clear," Don said.  
  
"Wait one moment," John said.  John walked forward then a series of robots came out. John fired the gun leaving them ablazed. The Drone Robots fell to the floor with ear piercing, horrific screams.  "Second corridor is clear."

The group resumed their trek following the direction given to them by the women. Don looked around, uneasy. It felt like the time they had come into the probe ship and didn't know they were surrounded by metal-space spiders. As though the threat was all around them. Hiding in clear sight around the group. A blue phaser fire erupted from the darkness striking John in the shoulder. The Robot fired back making a small drone robot fall to the floor. Don helped John back up to his feet noticing that his elbow had a burn. It would have been amusing that he got hit in the shoulder twice but it was not as funny. They were being fired upon by the drones and John got the most minor holes from them. John took off his jacket leaving it on the floor behind them then joined with Don firing at the metal critters. 

They retreated into a room walking backwards as the screams of the robots died down. The Robot turned around from the door then flipped a switch. There were rows of stasis pods decorating the scenery ranging in design. 

John tapped on the wrist watch, "Are we in the source of Smith's lifesign?"

There was a soft beep.

"Yes!" came unanimous reply.

"He is the third lifeform in the room," Judy said. "Can't miss him."

"That's actually more possible than how you say it," Don said, looking around in concern. 

John turned off the communicator then strolled down the line made by the pods as the camera flew over making it seem like there were hundreds of rows. Don gazed around the pods. Some of them had imprints of lifeforms that were not human at first glance. Don stopped, seeing the visual representation of a corpse inside a pod. He appeared to be bothered as he staggered back, landing against the Robot. Don turned away from the pod continuing his way forward. He looked up to see holographic representations of species that had been left to die inside the pods. Don couldn't see any representations of Smith's form  up there. John came to a stop then placed a hand out.  
  
"I think we should span out," John said. "We will cover more ground."  
  
"Alright," Don said.  
  
"If we don't find him before we're out of bullets then we have to leave him behind," John said, reluctantly.  
  
"We'll find him, Professor," Don said, reassuringly. John looked over. "He has some explaining to do to me."

"I hardly think he knew what Amaga had in mind for our request to be granted," John said. "Robot, you too, split up."

"Affirmative," The Robot said, then obediently strolled down the line.

The three split up into different parts of the long rows. Don walked on forward without giving them a look. Smith was the kind of person who came running toward someone when he was in danger so if there was any flying stasis pods lingering around then Smith would be in that one. Don came over to a control panel that had a series of strange languages. Some of them Don recognized from earlier encounters with aliens. Don placed the wrist band on the screen then tapped on it twice. A progress bar appeared. Five minutes later, the universal translator had updated and was reorganizing the growing language banks on the Jupiter 2.  He put the wrist band back on. He typed in roughly the equivalent of 'Earthling', but it could have been a slang, then hit the search bar. On the screen was three glowing figures: one figure was still walking, the other two were still.  
  
John was walking away from Smith while Don was going in his direction. Don looked up from the padd then back down. A gray glowing dot was headed in the way of Smith, now that had to be the Robot. Don exited the screen then followed the directions to Smith's stasis pod. Don made it over to the Robot to a strange and odd stasis pod. The Robot's head twirled in his direction then back toward the pod. There was silence before them at the glowing light blue cool air coming from the pod.

"Don to Professor Robinson," Don said.

"Robinson here," John said.

"I found him," Don said.

"Give me the bad news," John said.

"He's frozen," Don said. "I am not sure how we can dethaw our Mr Freeze." he tilted his head.

"I'll be waiting at the door," John said. "Get him out of there."

The Robot's head bobbed up in alarm. Its head whirring toward Don then back toward Smith. Don leaned forward adjusting his eyes to the oddly themed crystals. Smith was laid on his side, bare naked, in a fetal position and the bags in his eyes were more present then they had been. Don noticed parts of  Smith's hand were becoming jaggered and refined, smooth, pointy like a crystal with various shades of pink. His eyebrows were covered in crystals. What pieces of his outfit were left were in tatters around him. His blue nerve had layers of crystals appearing taking on sharp points.

"Uh, John," Don said. "Correction. He's not just frozen, he is becoming a crystal."

"Just get him up,"  John said. "I don't care how you do it. We have to get out of here."

"I will," Don said. "West out."

"I have been computing a method to free Doctor Smith," The Robot said

"And?" Don asked.

"It can be done," The Robot said, then came over to a console panel. "Step back, Major West."  Don  stepped back further and further away. "You may stop now. This is a very delicate, fragile process."  
  
The Robot turned away from the human then took out several vials. The Robot had a long pause as it dipped the contents into different glasses. He placed the vials into the machine then closed the door. He went to the back of it then opened another compartment and yanked out a blanket. The compartment door was closed with a loud slam. The Robot stood there for what felt like five minutes then drilled around Smith's figure.

Afterwards, The Robot placed the heavy, warm blanket onto the cold and frozen figure then tucked it around Smith. 

"Doctor Smith's back has become delicate," The Robot said. "I will require to hold him."

"Go ahead," Don said. "I don't want to hold him."

The Robot carefully took Smith's figure out of the pod then tucked the blanket even further around Smith's figure making him seem like a swaddled baby. The only way that it could be told that it wasn't a baby was based off the spikes coming from Smith's face. The Robot turned around then fired at the pod. The Robot sped away with Don following behind. The pod exploded sending out a gust of sparks and explosions spilling liquid contents to the floor. The Robot flew out the door making it fall against his treads. The Robot was speeding ahead of the two humans firing in random directions. The Robot came to a stop by what seemed to be a invincible wall. Amaga appeared before the Robot's eyes with a unpleasant expression about him.  
  
"You are supposed to be with the others," Amaga said.  
  
 "You are going to be dead once the Robinsons have left," The Robot said.  
  
"Hahaha, like they would do that," Amaga said.  
  
"I have researched intergalactic law and the crime you have committed indicated that you will face a cruel and unusual punishment," The Robot said. The Robot raised its back servo up aiming at the great Amaga. "If you do not step aside out of my way then I will be forced to eliminate a threat."  
  
"You don't do things without orders," Amaga said. "As your human kindly put it."  
  
The Robot fired leaving a perfectly rounded burning hole on Amaga's left shoulder.  
  
"I will not fail my duty," The Robot said, as Amaga staggered back.

"You wouldn't dare," Amaga said.

"Do not tempt me," The Robot said, with a very selective classic older man's voice that was soft and intimidating contrasting the normal deep robotic voice.

Amaga stepped aside.

The Robot stayed.

"And my charges will leave this facility, alive," The Robot replied.

"I'll be ruined," Amaga said.

"You will face my wrath if any more harm comes to them," The Robot reiterated, its head twirling with the familiar red glow. "Being burned to death by my laser is not a subject you should not be interested in."

The camera turned on to Amaga's horrified eyes.

* * *

"You want to know why I refused?" John asked.

Smith looked up away from the holographic representation of John's injuries.

"Yes," Smith said.

"They wanted me to offer a sacrifice in exchange that we go home. Someone who wasn't part of my family," John said. "To kill you, Smith."

Smith put down the dermal generator.

"You should taken it, Professor," Smith asked. 

"With more blood on my hands?" John asked.

"The happiness and safety of your family on your hands," Smith said.

"I had to kill a monster to save myself," John said. "I am not ready to give up on finding a way to cure you. _Everyone_ is going home."

Smith's eyebrows knitted together.

 "You want to go to Alpha Prime with everyone including that," he twirled his fingers in a circle. "metal monstrosity. . . and a traitor---no, no, a spy---no, a monster?"

"Yes," John said.

Smith grew a dark look.

"The Robinsons will make their new home but I _won't_ be able to feel at home," Smith turned off the holographic screen with a press of several buttons. "It appears I have repaired all the damage. Thank you. You may leave now."

Smith walked away from John without another word. The last words from Smith sounded like he was one step away from falling apart before John's eyes. His last words dripped with gratitude. Perhaps there was some good in Smith after all. Even as he was trapped in something that he could not easily escape. Smith was typing away on the padd filing in the report regarding the treatment. The Robot wheeled in after John then came over to the side of Smith. The Robot placed a metal claw on the shoulder of the breaking apart man. Smith dropped his padd to the table and wept.

* * *

Will held up the blue pot with awe. There was a strange glowing plant that had green leaves with a colorful center that went up to the branches. It had unusually shaped leaves that glowed a shade of purple. Some of the leaves were outlined in purple with a light purple color being the primary color. Some of the leaves looked like something had been munching on it before being transplanted from its native habitat. On the pot was a holographic screen with bright blue text that seemed to be in Latin with the words 'Discovered by Blarp Robinson' on the bottom.

"What kind of plant is this?" Will asked.

"It's a new one," Judy replied, taking it back. "I am studying it for biological purposes."

Will looked up.

"You still haven't answered my question," Will said.

"I don't know what it is," Judy said. "That's why I am studying it." Will nodded, sheepishly, as the words sunk in.

"It must be nutritious as the Blarp's were eating it," Will said.

"Could be," Judy said, playing with the leaves. "I could do some studying with a sample.  . ." she rubbed her fingers against the leaves. "Look at this strange specimen. If I remove a leaf, then it won't look as mystifying."

"You're reluctant to do that since you might find something you obviously won't like," Will said.  Judy looked down toward the younger.

"When did you develop telepathic abilities?" Judy asked.

"I just know you too well," Will said. "Nothing psychic about that."

Judy turned the pot toward the window.

"Time for you to go to bed," Judy said. "After a eventful day--"

"It wasn't eventful," Will insisted. "It was exciting," Judy guided him out of the lab. "I look forward to visiting a alien city."

"Me too, me too," Judy agreed, with a hand on his shoulder.

The door closed behind the two Robinsons. Suddenly long vines came out of the pot traversing their way down the scenery. Some of them went up into a few air vents as leaves sprouted from their juicy, large arm. The vines turned gray blending in with the scenery. Minutes later, Judy returned then plucked a piece of leaf taking it with her out of the room as she looked down toward it. She placed the leaf into her pocket and the door closed behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just writing film!Don the way I best think he would react. I hardly think Don would swear maybe say hell instead of shit. And you honestly think I added a buttload of scenes that could happen to this story that could form a coherent storyline with a unique ending? THE HELL I DID!
> 
> "Do not tempt me" was said with Harris!Smith's voice.
> 
> I headcanon that the Robot has become sapient and has free will. It's pretending to not have free will around the Robinsons because he was made to serve and protect. He doesn't want them to be afraid of him. Here's his second chance to do what he was made to do. The Robot is taking that chance. He won't make the same mistake.


	20. Chapter 20

Agony can be not only physical pain but emotional pain. A pain that needs time to heal and to be stopped for the recovery to go on. Emotional pain was a thing that most spies had to be detached from. Get too close in the assignment would get you killed. Another thing a spy knows, escape can be anywhere. Even right under the enemy's noses. The only people who were in agony in Smith's line of work were the victims. He had lost too many colleague spies in his youth due to their lack of emotional restraint. He survived longer than any of the original one hundred. What was also agonizing was the potential of the children witnessing his transformation, the degrade in his personality and morals, and the monstrosity that he would become.  
  
He hoped it wouldn't come to pass.  
  
That they saw a tall, humanoid like spider disgracing the name _Doctor_ Zachary Smith.

* * *

 "Didn't dad say Smith was helping you set up the Deutronium drilling equipment?" Judy asked, coming over to the side of Don.  
  
"He did," Don said.  
  
"And he is still out there," Judy said.  
  
"Tanning," Don said, then shook his head. "Tanning." Penny smiled, tending to the plants. "I told him it was a bad idea."  
  
"He doesn't listen," Judy said.  
  
"Don't worry, he made himself lunch before we left," Don said. He shook his head. "Never thought I would see the day Smith working with a 'delicate back'." he looked on toward the distance.  
  
"Being in a dark universe does explain why he was ready to punch out that officer," Judy said.  
  
"That was one mistake," Don said. "I look forward to seeing several beautiful and glorious miscalculated mistakes in the foreseeable future."  
  
"Don," Judy said, smacking his shoulder as Don laughed.  
  
"So was Smith's," Don said. "But it'll be a lot worse."  
  
"I remember that too," Judy said, with a frown. Penny looked off, fondly recalling the times that Smith brought her and Will to Earth on short trips for vacations. Trips that were used incentives to follow through with the deals forged to aliens. "He backstabbed on the aliens for us."  
  
"When did I say backstabbing us?" Don said. "I am certain of him backstabbing the alien but the side effects could be worse than his universes aftermath."  
  
"Hey, where is Doctor Smith?" Will asked, coming out of the Jupiter 2 with the Robot behind him. "Robot just gleaned off a new play from the Intergalactic drama archives."  
  
"It is not a drama," The Robot insisted, its head whirring toward Will. "It is a supernatural black comedy."  
  
"From what I read, it is a drama," Will said. "It plays with feelings."  
  
"If you insist,"  The Robot said, whirring its head from the young child.  
  
"Doctor Smith at the new Deutronium Drilling station," Don said. "And bare in mind, he might be a magnet for danger."  
  
"Danger is our special interest," The Robot said. "I will do my best to protect them."  
  
"You always do," Don said, "The point is be careful. His magnetism might attract bigger fish."  
  
"Your metaphors are unnecessary," The Robot replied.  
  
"Let's go," Will said. "I'll be using the  Robot to detect Doctor Smith."  
  
"A Smith detector," Don said. "Get it?"  
  
It took a few moments for it to sink in then for laughter to start coming from the small group. Maureen watched Will go off with Penny and the Robot clinging to his side. Everyone else was concerned regarding Will's sake since his return. They didn't want to take their eye off him. Maureen sighed, with her arms folded. It was the dangers of being on a alien planet. She could say that she was used to her children being held captive and expect looks of horror from strangers.

* * *

_Smith was in the unfamiliar forest._

_The lingering fog drifting above the ground and the darkness making it seem spooky._

_Smith looked over his shoulder hearing the sounds of metal echoing through the forest. He sprinted through the forest. A path that he had taken countless times before fleeing from the alien spiders. He tripped over a piece of log. He heard a familiar boy's voice call for him. He looked over his shoulder to see the shadow of the other. The other stowaway looming over him with the neck craned high. Smith trembled, sliding himself back. His breath became shaky as his heart pound against his chest and he fell into a burst of sweat._

_"Hello," the head lowered then gave a sinister smile. "Me."_

_Smith attempted to make himself smaller staring at the green-gray spider._

_"Doctor Smith!" Smith heard Will's voice from over._

_William._

_"The child," Smith said, as the hair all over raised._

_A bright, golden light sent the spider tipping back as shielding himself.  
_

_"William!"_

_Will came forward contrasting against the dark scenery around with the glow._

_"I am not afraid of you," Will said, as the spider individual staggered back._

_The spider individual stopped._

_"You should be," came the unsettling reply. "So tall, so courageous, so innocent. . ." the spider individual crept forward and loomed over the boy. "so tasty."_

_"Pick on someone your own size," Will said, as a new light of intensity blinded the spider._

"Stay away!" Smith bolted forward in a cold sweat.

Smith wiped the sweat off his forehead then looked on ahead.

"Ah, William," Smith relaxed. "What brought you here?"

"I just wanted to check on you," Will said. "You look like you need sleep."

Smith leaned to his side.

"I am fine," Smith said, as though it were final. He rubbed his eyes. "I got all the sleep I need."

"When I have a nightmare, I have the Robot materialize one of those cold heavy blankets," Will said.

"How amusing," Smith replied, his voice dripping tiredly. "Your robot can replicate. A 3-D printer, perhaps. . ." he looked over with dark bags under his eyes toward the child. "Hmm?"

"3-D Printer?" Will asked.

"You must be familiar to that," Smith said.

"No," Smith put on his sunglasses. "but I like to know what it is."

"Printing 3-D objects," Smith said. "Like a small version of the Jupiter 2. A toy."

"Oh, that," Will said, nodding his head. "I have seen plenty versions of the Jupiter 2. Once as representation of what we would be sleeping in for five years."

"Five years?" Smith asked

"Five years," Will said, with a nod.

"It was a ten year trip in my universe," Smith said. "and the ship was uglier." Smith had a look of consideration, briefly. "Frankly, isn't it funny how you are the only ones with a spaceship that resembles a saucer?"

"I learned to love the ship," Will said. "No matter how alien it looks."

"Shoo, go play with your sister," Smith said, sliding his sunglasses up.

"You don't sleep often," Will said, stepping forward. "What plagues your nightmares?"

Smith took his glasses off.

"My . . ." Smith paused. What was the most elegant way of putting it? "My boogeyman."

"Your alien counterpart is  a space boogeyman?" Will asked.

"Yes," Smith said. "He is also Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, and my kryptonite." his tired eyes gazed toward the sky.

"I used to have one," Will said. "I defeated it. It fell into the power core."

"I don't doubt it," Smith said, amused. "At least you could kill it."

"Everyone can kill their it," Will said.

"How did you make it fall?" Smith asked.

"I said no," Will said, earning a snicker from Smith.

"I'll have to die just to make it fall," Smith joked.

"Don't," Will said.

"Don't what?" Smith asked, turning his attention toward Will raising a brow.

"Die," Will said.

Smith didn't reply at first. He had a expression of raw realization then it faded replaced by a kind look of understanding. As though a piece of Will's grieving mind had peeked out in all its ugliness and darkness before Smith's eyes with all the hurt. He nodded to himself, then began to reply.

"Everyone dies, William," Smith said, placing a hand on Will's shoulder. "It's part of life."

"Life doesn't have to take someone just to make a point," Will said.

"I wish it didn't happen that way. . .  But, it does happen that way," Smith  said. "Meaningless death. . .  unnecessary. . . and a inconvenience."

Will sat down onto the smaller rock.

"That was his kind of death,"  Will said.

"And how do you feel about that?"  Smith asked.

"Angry," Will said. "I lagged him behind with my big shoe. The last thing he said to me was..  ."

" _Tight means it fits,William,_ " Smith said.

"How did you kn---" Will asked, shocked starting toward Smith with wide eyes.

"I was told you didn't choose the shoe that was your size," Smith said. "It was necessary for you to learn a lesson."

"But at the cost of him?" Will asked, raising a brow.

"What better way of learning without dying yourself?" Smith asked. Will lowered his head. "You could have died, too."

"He could have lived," Will said. "He could have lived."

Smith let go of Will's shoulder.

"I am not going to say that age old insulting phrase, dear William," Smith said. "Instead, I am going to tell you what my other counterpart would say about this sulking. . . " Will looked up toward the older man. Smith looked like his attention was caught with his eyes squinting. Smith got up from the rock then walked ahead of Will taking his two piece shirt with him.

"Nothing?" Will said. "Uh, Doctor Smith?"

* * *

Smith stopped in his tracks to see a pitch black cat with a vest that had machinery headed his way. Smith retreated behind a large boulder warily watching the cat. The cat came to a stop as Smith slid up the sunglasses. He snatched his grandfather's golden watch from the sand then shoved it into his pocket. The cat walked around in circles then stared at Smith. It mewed back at Smith. Smith stared back at the little creature. He had seen disgusting creatures and some that seemed innocent at first glance until they tried to pose harm. Smith shuddered, the memory of large furry balls taking over his quarters was terrifying enough enough to make him leave and take a survival pack with him until the Robinsons came to their senses that the furballs had sinister intentions. Evil knows evil, a wise philosophical saying. When evil is being studied then it studies them which makes evil one of the most unpredictable enemy. Good and evil had their different sides of the same coin, explaining motivations behind behaviors but never used as a excuse.  Smith would admit to using excuses. Such as using his infected back to get out of chores or tasks.  
  
He loved his dying planet and it had his pity. It was a reason why he decided to betray the Robinsons as their family Doctor under the right price. A price that was unable to be paid as it was astronomical. Global Sedition assured him that it wouldn't make a hypergate -- which he discovered otherwise thanks to the the other Don West -- nor try to colonize the planet. He had hope that Global Sedition was facing setbacks. It is what they deserved for stranding him aboard the Jupiter 2 to die. If humanity were going extinct then so was Global Sedition. Now, to the cat, it looked innocent. And he knew, it wasn't innocent. The look in the cat's glowing, large yellow eyes. The thin, black diamond shaped pupil expanded as the cat tilted his head. Smith stared back at the cat.

"Doctor Smith, don't be scared of a cat," Will said.

"As you once said before," The  Robot said, whirring its head toward Will. "his shadow terrifies him more than his back."

"That cat is probably a doomsday device," Smith said, his non-blinking stance broken by the distraction. He turned his attention of the cat toward the three. The Robot's attention turned away from Will. "Robotic cats do not fool me!"

The cat leaped onto the rock with a mew.

"Aww, it likes you!" Penny said.

Smith stumbled from the cat then crashed away from the cat. He landed on his back on a patch of grass behind the rock. 

"Keep that cat away from me," Smith said. "The last time I tried to pet a ball of fur, it bit me!"

Smith marched away and the cat followed after him. 

"Robot, is that a cat?" Will asked.

"It is a cat," The Robot said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to edit what Smith's reaction was after Will's reply regarding 'die' because it was a scene I saw in my head and thought it didn't need to be described but rereading it? Yes, it does need to be added.


	21. Chapter 21

The spaceship that the alien cat came from was a shade of purple, black, and blue. There were large, deep blue circular windows resembling a v-shaped necklace. The space ship had the shape of a hand with long, slender fingers embedded into the soil. Smith was constantly moving around attempting to stay out of the meowing cat. The cat was brushing against his leg. Penny, Will, and the Robot stopped five feet away from the spaceship. Smith climbed up the rock then perched himself on the ledge. He took out a flip stick of some kind then slowly slid out different types of tools that were familiar.  He used the long blade to tap on the windows. Smith slipped the blade back into the handle then put it back into his pocket.

"Strange," Smith said. "Is this a toy?"

"I don't think so," Will said, as the cat landed on Smith's shoulder and loudly purred.

Smith punched the cat off his shoulder.

"Stop abusing the cat," The Robot said.

"That's not a cat," Smith said. "I tell you."

"Ha ha ha," The Robot laughed. "You act as though you've faced a robotic cat."

"I've faced a android killing cat machine," Smith said. "and it nearly ripped me to shreds."

"Cats are capable of being that," Penny said. "I remember that time a cat scratched a uncle of mine viciously because he was trying to implant a embryo of a hybrid version of it."

"You don't get it," Smith said. "It was made of metal."

"Aren't all cats?" Penny said. "They have nerves of steel."

"You haven't met a killing machine in the form of a cat," Smith said. "A part of me can't decide whether or not to pity you or envy you."

"You can do both," Penny said.

Smith was about to reply when suddenly he lost his balance on the edge then fell toward the windows where he promptly vanished.

"Doctor Smith!" The Robot's head bobbed up in alarm.

"I'm fine, just fell inside the glass," Smith's voice sounded close as the children looked in all directions.

"Get out," The Robot said.

"I _am_ out, ninny!" Smith's disembodied voice replied.

"You are still not visible," The Robot said.

There was a long moment of silence.

"Ow!" Will's hand yanked to his head.

"Will, you pinched me!" Penny said, grabbing hold onto her left shoulder.

"No, I didn't," Will said.

"Yes, you did," Penny argued.

"That is not nice, Doctor Smith," The Robot said.

"Just wanted to be sure," The energy pack was yanked off the Robot's side then was floating in mid-air. "Now who is the one who does not have the fusion unit generator?" the sound of tapping on glass could be heard. The energy pack reappeared back on the Robot's side.

"Fusion unit generator?" Will asked.

"It's. . ." Smith said. "Never mind. Leave this ship alone and---" the cat flew away from the Robot then landed on its feet with a meow. "Don't touch me, you drooling cactus." 

"I agree," The Robot said. "It would be wise to leave the spaceship," the  Robot turned it's head toward where it expected Smith. "Would you like to be part of a play?"

"I doubt that when I am invincible," Smith said.

"Ooh, that doesn't matter," Penny said. "It is a supernatural play."

"I change my mind," Smith said. "Sounds perfect." The cat vanished near Smith then was sent flying away.

"Stop kicking the cat," The Robot said.

"I didn't kick it, I tossed it," Smith argued, his voice nearby as the children left the space craft with his shadow in between them.

"For once, it's you who is invincible," Penny said.

"Hmm?" Smith asked.

"One time I fell into a sand pit and became invincible so you became convinced I was dead because you fled from a monster, a swamp creature, that was weak to the sunlight," Will explained. "And the only thing you found of me was a shoe."

"Indeed, Indeed," Smith agreed. "It's a good thing you weren't sitting there."

* * *

It was Maureen who heard the children when they returned from the play and Smith's voice was relatively close. She looked up while putting the clothes away expecting to see Smith in the center of them dressed up for the occasion. Instead, she saw a dark circular shadow in-between them. She rubbed her eyes as his voice came from the two. Penny shook her head then walked off toward the Jupiter 2.

"Penny, what happened to Doctor Smith?" Maureen asked.

"He fell into a window so he is invincible now," Penny said, then walked in.

"Doctor Smith," Maureen called.

"Yes, madame?" Maureen heard the boot steps that came to a stop.

"Where are you?" Maureen looked around.

"Right beside you," Smith said. She looked both ways. "Look down."

Maureen looked down to see a set of boot prints.

"Ah, there you are," Maureen's eyes glanced up.

"It's fortunate that I wasn't turned five centimeters tall," Smith said.

"If this is how you are going to be for the foreseeable future, I want you to make sure the children do not go fall into that window," Maureen said. "when you pay a visit to wherever you were exploring with the children."

"The Robot and I will make sure of that," Smith said. "Where is the professor and the major now?"

"Setting up the weather station," Maureen said.  "Said they would be back in a few hours."

"And that was two hours ago," Smith said.

"Yes," Maureen said

"The  Robot will make sure Will won't go unsupervised should I be napping," Smith shifted. "now will you?"

"I'm innocent until proven guilty, your honor!" The Robot insisted.

"Ooops. . . I'll fix that," The sound of Smith's boot steps trailed away from Maureen toward the Robot.

Maureen shook  her head with a bemused smile on her face.

* * *

John arrived later on with Will beside him. He looked over warily toward the space craft and looked up toward the top where the cat rested with its feet under its chest and the tail curled around its side. Previous experience said that caution had to be used no matter how innocent the alien looks let alone the last being a beagle that watched out for its owners protection. There were a list of situations similar to it that featured animals appearing around the spacecrafts. The windows were large and circular for a given person to fall right in.

"So this is where he fell in," John said.

"Lost his balance," Will said, as John stepped forward.

"I haven't seen this spacecraft before," John said, patting on its wall.

"What do you think these aliens are here for this time?" Will asked.

John rubbed his two fingers together.

"It could be one of four reasons," John said. "Got a enemy on their tail so they decide to lay low, need to refuel, need to repair, or. . ."

"Or?" Will asked.

"They want something," John said, as he walked around the spaceship.  John looked up toward the side window. "and to think that Smith fell into it."

"He falls into their hands all the time," Will said. "Since we didn't see aliens the first time around, maybe the spaceship is abandoned."

"Maybe," John said, looking up to spot the cat. "Maybe that cat is the pilot."

"A cat piloting a ship," Will said. "I don't know about that, Dad. I can make up something more. . ."

"More logical?" John asked.

"Yeah," Will said, with a nod.

"I can name off a few species that would fit the bill," John said. "Space isn't logical."

"Right," Will said. "I forgot about that."

"And Smith abused the cat," John said.

"Yeah, he did, a few times," Will said.

"Make sure he doesn't go near that cat," John pointed toward the cat. "Or you for that matter. Stay away from it."

"Dad, can I try a little experiment?" Will asked. "I have a theory."

John looked toward Will, raising a eyebrow.

"What kind of theory?" John asked.

"Just watch," Will said, then climbed up the embankment. He placed his hand onto the glass window then felt around the other windows for a entrance. He pressed his hand onto the glass then reached his hand back and turned back toward John. "Doctor Smith didn't lose his balance, he was forced to."

"Targeted," John said. "They don't know who they are targeting." John came forward as Will came down the rocks. "Hello, I am Professor Robinson."

The cat's eyes slowly opened.

"Meow," the cat meowed.

"Doctor Smith is not like us or you for that matter," John said. "You don't want to take him with you."

"Meow?" the cat meowed.

"Sure, you can use him as entertainment," John said, with a laugh. "Just be careful."

"Meow," the cat replied.

"Good," John said. "Glad we understand each other," he turned toward Will. "I didn't think I would have to face a alien cat over Smith."

"There is a lot of things that we didn't see coming before Doctor Smith entered our lives," Will replied.

"Yes," John said, placing a hand on Will's shoulder. "We didn't."


	22. Chapter 22

"Doctor Smith is not human," The Robot said, suddenly coming from behind John.

There used to be a day when the Robot's abrupt comment startled the professor and that day had long since passed. Once a ready, obedient assistant of Doctor Smith; the Robot had evolved into a ready yet still obedient companion to the Robinsons. The sudden comment didn't alarm John. Nothing did anymore when it came to living in space. He had passed being alarmed long ago during the first year of their mission. John turned his attention on to the Robot.

"Don told me about that,"  John said. "I am quite aware what he is becoming. . . What else do I not know?"

"His spine is undergoing abnormal growth," The Robot said. That caught John's interest.

"Define what kind of growth," John said.

"It is difficult to explain,"  The Robot said.

"Humor me," John said.

"His spine is expanding," The Robot said. "Very slowly. And painfully."

"He must have some way of living through it," John said.

"The Doctor Smith I knew would be unable to tolerate it," The Robot said. "and be pleading that his pain be ended." the Robot's head bobbed up in alarm. "This Doctor Smith refuses to act vulnerable."

John rubbed his chin.

"This explains why he sat on a stool for dinner at the table," John said. "It is agonizing to put his back against a flat surface." he looked up toward the Robot.

"If Smith is not human, then what is he? You are asking yourself," The Robot said. "The answer is. . . a hybrid."

"A highly dangerous hybrid," John said, then walked away.

"What is a human without their DNA?" The Robot mused to itself. "Their dignity? Their appearance? Their psychological view of themselves? A human is not a human when they do not feel human. But a machine that feels human? That is the question. What is a human without their DNA?"

* * *

Most of the Robinsons were sound asleep except for John and Smith. The Robot rolled away from Smith's direction then made its way up to the command deck. John could hear the Robots's whirring then the sound of the elevator gently going up. John couldn't hear Smith, but he was sure the man was repeating something the Robot had said in a demeaning, mocking tone back to himself. John was having difficulty sleeping, tossing and turning from his side of the bed. He sat on the edge of it looking off toward the flat gray wall across from him.  He rubbed both sides of his temple and lowered his head with his eyes closed. A familiar scream brought John to Smith's old door.

"HOW DID THEY GET HERE? Oh dear. Oh dear . . ."

John closed the door then came to Residential Deck C.

"Smith, what are you--" John stopped talking as he looked over. "Oh."

"These cats are not cats," Smith's voice dripped with disgust and horror.

"This is not entertaining," John said.

"What do you mean?" Smith asked, appalled. "Did you put all of them in my room?"

"No," John said, then looked in toward the mewing black room. "you're going to have to deal with this development," John looked toward the empty space beside him. "No, you are not going to sleep outside."

"Can I at least kick them out of my room?" Smith asked.

"You are not abusing them on my ship," John said.

"What if they try to eat me?" Smith asked.

"They are bored aliens looking for entertainment," John said. "Eating you would ruin the fun."

"I am doomed," Smith said. "Doomed, I say, because of _alien cats_."

"Although you and the Robot can escort them out," John said, then overheard Smith's sigh.

"I have a question," Smith said. "why did you let my counterpart stay? After all he had done? You know what he did. I find it hard to believe he stuck around with the guilt on his shoulders for as long as he did. If we never accepted the offer, your family would be on Alpha Centauri--"

"Smith," John cut him off. "How did the Robinsons survive the sabotage?"

"They woke up," Smith said.

"And who woke up West?" John asked.

"I did,"  Smith said.

"And who managed to save a member of my family?" John asked.

"I did," Smith said.

"Even if you didn't come aboard and sabotaged our ship, we would have never made it," John said.

"The right thing would have been to never accept that offer from my employer," Smith said, his voice laced with regret. "Don't give me your sympathy, Professor," Smith shook his head. "I did have this coming with or without being taken to the probe ship."

"No, Smith," John said. "The time merchant told me. We would be dead if you never got stuck on the Jupiter 2."

"A merchant that deals with time," Smith said.  "Are you sure that it is not all a allusion?"

"I am sure of it,"  John said.

"Things are quite bizarre and colorful here," Smith said.

"That, Smith, is better than being in the dark," John said.

"How did Zachary deal with that guilt?" Smith asked. "Did he ever discuss this with you?"

"You were a doctor and that is what we needed," John said. "It was enough."

"That couldn't have been enough," Smith said. "Letting a terrorist, a traitor, a spy, a. . ." Smith stopped himself. "A murder aboard your ship?"

"We see the best in people, however as little or big," John said. "You provide companionship for the children and maybe more than that."

"Family was never my strong suit," Smith said, fumbling his fingers that were trembling.

"The Professor of your universe will never admit to this but I will," John said. "You are reliable when it comes to the children. No matter where you are or where you are from . . ." then he added as Smith's fumbling stopped abruptly. " _despite_ your backstabbing nature."

"How are you so certain about that?" Smith asked, clasping his still hands together.

"You proved that theory when it came to my son," John said.

"Backstabbing is not a reliable characteristic, Professor," Smith said. "Sarcasm is not only a recourse of the weak mind but it's also backstabbing."

"It's best to have the lesser of two evils on your shoulder," John said. "survival boils down to that. And cooperation."

"You would be at Alpha Centauri had you let Zachary fall after a nasty outcome with aliens," Smith said.

"We wouldn't," John replied. "The women and the children stick around the Jupiter 2's grounds unlike you."

"I cannot determine for the life of me if that's a compliment or a insult," Smith said.

"Good night, Smith," John said, then walked away.

"Night, Professor," Smith said, softly.

The camera panned over to the inside of his small, cramped room. The resting cats stirred raising their heads up, moving out of the way. Two fluffy, large cats floated up from in the air and loud unhappy mewing. The cats were tossed out of the room. The cats landed on their feet and others followed suit. The door slammed shut on the mewing cats. The cats pawed at the door loudly crying. The camera moved over to the not-well-decorated wall and observed a bed sliding out of the wall. The dresser drawer slid open and a thick, black onesie floated in the air that was placed onto the bed. A orange shirt, black vest, and pants appeared out of thin air landing to the floor. The onesie vanished on the bed. The blanket was yanked off the bed then the bed was slid up. The shape of a figure appeared under the blankets curled up.

In the middle of the night, the blanket bolted up drenched in sweat and panted.

The blanket slowly went down followed by panting.

Every two hours, this cycle repeated.

* * *

It was morning when Penny noticed the door alongside Will's gently opened. She watched a comb fly out of the room then it gently float alongside the doorway as the doors were slid closed. Penny rubbed her eyes watching the unusual event occur before her eyes. She watched the lower half of the comb vanish before her eyes leaving the hairy portion of it behind. She can feel eyes staring back at her as though she was not the only one awake.

"Hello?"

"Hello, dear Penny," came a man's voice.  "I was paying my respects to your old friend."

"Who?" Penny asked.

"Doctor Smith, you recall. Your Smith, anyway," Smith mused. "Must feel strange to have another man wearing his name walking around. Even odder to have the one responsible for being lost in space with you."

"Pardon?" Penny said.

"I heard he was a old man somewhere in his forties to fifties. . . Grayed and enjoying his golden years," Smith said, sounding jealous. "Admirable."

"I don't know who you are talking about or who you are," Penny said. "We don't have a stowaway."

"His name was Doctor Zachary Smith, please reconsider," she can hear him approach.

"Don't have to reconsider," Penny said. "If we had a doctor then I would have known about it."

"Is this some kind of game that Major West is playing?" Smith asked.

"No," Penny said. "Adults don't play games."

"Actually, we do play games to have fun," Smith said. "Let's play one."

"I am good at games," Penny said.

"Yes, yes, yes," Smith said. "three questions, if I ask another then you get to walk away and act as though I am not there. Then you can ask me questions throughout the day. Otherwise, continue to act that you don't know me."

"Are you being tricky?" Penny asked.

"Nah uh ah," Smith said. "Let me ask first."

"You're tricky," Penny said.

"How did you get stranded in space?" Smith asked

"Meteor storm sent us off course," Penny said.

"And who woke up Major West?" Smith asked.

"The Robot," Penny said.

"Right after he tried to kill you?" Smith said.

"No, he didn't," Penny said. "Is this some kind of trick? Because Robot would never do that."

Penny felt a hand gently pat on her head.

"You're too innocent to trick," then there was a pause. "Though, your Smith might have tricked you often." She felt his hand slid off her head.

Penny shook her head listening to the sounds of boots storming off toward the elevator. She watched the elevator go up the decks and her eyes widened. Penny covered her mouth in shock then watched the elevator return down to the deck. She walked over then scanned it for any signs of visible tampering with her eyes. Penny had a confused, baffled expression on her face then her attention was yanked by the sound of mewing. Penny picked up the large, fluffy maine coon cat into her arms.

* * *

Don and John attended to the weather station surrounded by the cats.

The cats had always been there one way or another in their life as mandated by Alpha Control.

Cats were deemed as the most likable companion in space and the best emotional support.

Cats had been the first animals to go out into space before humans due to their intellect. The two men were making check ups on the device to make sure it was working properly. The machine was a rounded with a glass dome on the top and several table legs. Don paused, looking back at a time one of the cats tried to lift off back to Earth taking Will with it only to land back down on Preplanis. It was amusing, and genuinely, horrifying leaving the space pod to a lone cat and a boy. The time the cat rapidly aged and Will became extremely intelligent made Don smile. That cat was the most lazy, arrogant animal Don had crossed paths with.

"Major," John said, drawing Don's attention. "We're being watched."

"They are always watching us," Don said.

"No," John said, looking around. "This is different."

There was a loud, audible yawn from behind Don. Don turned around and backed off toward the weather station.

"That was not a cat," Don said, as the cats stare at the empty space that had the floating comb part sticking out before them.

The sound of a loud stomach grumbling came from around them. It sounded very close. John and Don exchanged a glance. It moved toward them as though it were inside something. John noticed that the comb was familiar. Like he had seen this comb aboard the Jupiter 2. It resembled one that was held in boxes inside the Jupiter 2 that could last everyone forever if need be. It had the thick orange band around the combs long spikes.

"Identity yourself," John said. 

Don and John felt Smith's gaze sweep from one to the other then focus on the two.

"They're scared," Don whispered.

"Maybe not," John replied, in a low voice.  "Maybe they can't speak English."

"Given our previous experiences, I think they know English," Don said, as John's eyes glanced from Don to the comb. "A standard language to know by this point."

"I am Professor Robinson of the Jupiter 2," John said. "And this is my pilot, Major---"

"West," Smith finished for John. "I am painfully aware of that, Professor."

"And these are our companions," Don said. "They are not up for grabs."

"They made that very clear to me this morning," Smith replied. "They are not your companions. You're being played by alien cats that have altered your memory for their entertainment. Apparently, your family are more fun than I am."

"Those cats are from Earth," Don said.

"And I am not becoming my own worst nightmare," Smith said, bitterly. "I wish I never approached the spaceship, that way you still remember your beloved friend."

"If we lost someone, we would have remembered it," John said.

"It is hard to forget burying anyone," Don said, feeling like he was being glared at. "We buried a cat two weeks ago."

"Spare me the denial, _Major_ ," Smith said, sharply. A cat acted as though it were rubbing against his leg. Suddenly, the cat flew off and landed to its feet on the ground. John started to slip his laser pistol out of its sheath as Smith's boot prints changed direction. "Your mess is going to backfire so bad that you won't be able to regenerate."

Don got in the way of the cats aiming the laser pistol at Smith's chest where he stopped.

"I recommend you reconsider that," Don said.

"I . . . I . . .  I am going to do you a favor over something you will regret later," Smith said.

"No, I won't," Don said.

There was a long moment of silence from Smith's side.

"Trust me when I say this . . . " Smith said, his voice dripped with lethargy. The cats loudly began to mew gathering closely around the weather station.

"I see no reason to," Don said, his finger on the trigger.

"It'll break the family morale even William's heart," Smith pointed out. John's eyes widened then slowly shook his head. "I left to stop that not create it."

The last part came out oddly sincerely from the stranger. Which was strangely heartbreaking.

"You're not going after my son," John said, stepping forward.

The laser pistol was forcibly tipped down toward the dirt.

"Rest assured. . . I am doing this in his best interest, Professor," Smith replied.

Don was struggling to keep a firm grip on the laser pistol.

"What kind of planet are you from?" Don asked, looking up where Smith would be. "Krypton?"

"Earth," Smith said. "Sweet, disastrous and dying Earth."

"You don't seem human," John said.

Smith had a genuine laugh that doubled down into a sad, bemused laughter nearing on the brink of tears. It was like Smith could wing his hands at any time leaving Don unable to fight back. Don's hand was trembling as he looked down watching the fingers slowly be pried off the handle before his eyes. The laser pistol fell to the dirt. Donn yanked his hand back, stepping away from Smith with a horrified look. John fired where Smith had been then was knocked down by a sudden force landing unconscious to the ground. Don turned his attention over toward the Professor unable to move a muscle. He was in a state of shock unsure what to do. Don looked around in alarm expecting for a punch to fly out of thin air at him.

The camera turned on the wide eyed cats that were silent.

That punch never came.

* * *

"And then he left," Don finished.

"He left?" Maureen said, as John dabbed the pack on his eye.

"Uh huh," Don said. "Acted like he was familiar to us."

"That is strange," Maureen said.

"It could have been worse," John said.

"Yet, he acted like he were familiar to  you," Maureen said. "Perhaps our memory has been altered."

"I would not doubt that," John said. "After all the times our memory has been altered. . ."

Don walked round the table, rubbing his chin. 

"Wouldn't that be taxing on the human mind?" Don asked. "Done one too many times leaving us with long term memory loss."

"It's a possibility," John said. "A possibility that could happen."

"What is the answer to the universe?" Penny asked, as she walked out of the Jupiter 2. "What is the meaning of expelliarmus? I hear that often from some of the girlfriends I made a while back on the Browner station," she looked over toward the missing space behind her. "Is there meaning in bar codes? A friend of mine said they scanned a digital creature from it with their scanner. Is there meaning in crows cawing? Is it true that birds can speak?"

Penny walked past the improvised meeting area from the small group. The three looked over in the direction of Penny with concerned looks then shared a glance with each other. Maureen turned back toward the questioning young woman.

"Penny, who are you talking to?" Maureen asked.

"Oh," Penny said, coming to a stop then casually replied.  "Doctor Smith."

"And who is this Doctor Smith?" Don  asked.

"You know him, Don," Penny said. "You might know him."

"I do?" Don asked, leaning into the chair with a baffled look. "I don't know anyone by that name."

"He implied," Penny said, coming over to the resting plants. 

"Implied," John repeated.

"We're playing a game," Penny said, leaning against the table. "He asked me five questions, now I get to ask him questions and he has to answer them throughout the day. He can't ask me any questions."

"Penny," Maureen said. "you know he is not around?"

"Just because you can't see him doesn't mean he is not there," Penny said.

"I did not hear him walk away," Don said. "She is right about that."

"He'll talk when he's comfortable," Penny said.

"But if he doesn't then you should talk to someone who is visible and also there," Maureen said.

"Alright, Mom," Penny said. 

Penny looked over to see a shadow of what seemed to be a figure sitting on the top of the Jupiter 2 reflected on the sand sitting on the edge of the spaceship. She turned her attention from the sand to the space. When she looked down, the shadow was gone. Maureen came over to the laundry basket then took out a black vest that had a watch attached to a golden chain hanging from a pocket. The golden chain vanished in mid-air like it had been zapped away by a device. Maureen looked around as John came to her side. He looked down toward the black vest. 

"He must be very familiar to us," John said.

"I get the feeling that this isn't the first time he left a grandfather's watch in his pocket," Maureen said.

Don looked toward the direction that Penny was still looking down at then up toward the young woman.

"And you saw his shadow," Don said. "This must really be amusing to him."

"Not really amusing," Maureen said.

"More alarming," John agreed.

Penny walked past the Robot that was covered in cats.

* * *

The Robot's sensors scanned the cats and determined that despite their strange nature, they were still cats. They seemed to be everywhere the Robot went. If it went down to the computer navigational station below the bridge then the cats would be right on him. If he went down to the galley to check on Maureen's cooking, the cats would be there too. If it went to check on Will's studies, the cats were there. If it went to the power core, the cats would be there. If it went anywhere aboard the Jupiter 2, the cats were there. Its sensors were growing tired of detecting the cats so it wandered off a few hours after the Smith incident. If it detected one more cat around it, the Robot felt it would cry. Typical Robots could not cry. However, in the Robot's unique case it could synthesize the sound of crying. Penny followed after the Robot on a break from her usual questioning.  
  
"Robot, what is wrong?" The Robot straightened itself up then yanked its accordion arms in.  
  
"Nothing is wrong, Penny Robinson," The Robot replied.  
  
"It's not like you to go off without telling us you were going for a walk," Penny said.  
  
"I do this often," The Robot said.  
  
"No, you don't," Penny said.  
  
"According to my tapes, I _do_ ," The Robot said. "Following after a lazy, trouble seeking cat."  
  
"I miss the cat, too,"  Penny said. The Robot turned looking off in the direction of the distance then back toward Penny then raised its head up high. "What is it, Robot?"  
  
"We are typically surrounded by cats no matter where we go," The Robot said.  
  
 "Cats respect privacy," Penny said. "They are very good at reading people."  
  
"Cats do," The Robot agreed. "I do not detect danger. . ."  
  
"However, you feel like there should be,"  Penny said.  
  
"Affirmative," The Robot's head lowered.  
  
"You are just bored that there is no excitement," Penny said. "Don't deny it. I get bored too."  
  
"I do not deny it," The Robot said.  "There are chances I have a problem with my sensors."  
  
"Except, you have done a system diagnostics," Penny said.  
  
"I am in the process of doing so and I am at ninety percent," The Robot replied.  
  
"How's that going?" Penny asked.  
  
The Robot paused as its head whirred in surprise.  
  
"My tapes feel funny," The Robot said.

Penny looked at the Robot, oddly.  
  
"How so?" Penny asked.  
  
"It is hard to explain," The Robot said.  
  
"Try me," Penny said.  
  
"It is as though the cats are decorations," The Robot said. "Cats. .  . cats. . . . CATS---urgh." The Robot wilted over to  a rock with its glass head pressed against its accordion black arm and had the other pressed against the wall as the support. "Fluffy, motionless. . . . still. . . sitting. . . . cats.  .  . not a blink," Penny came over to the Robot's side then placed a hand on his metal shoulder.

"There, there," Penny said, patting on the  Robot's shoulder. "You are just sick of them."

The Robot wept. 

"I---" sniff. "--want to--" sniff. "--detect something---" sniff. "else," The Robot said, as Penny lightly patted. "This is abnormal."

"I understand that feeling," Penny said. "I wish that we stop seeing yellow mountains and start seeing trees."

"It is as though they are---" The Robot leaned off the hard, rocky wall and bobbed its head up once putting its arms inside while facing Penny. " _Cardboard_."  
  
"Like they are not real?"  Penny asked. "Like . . .  they were never there."  
  
"Affirmative," The Robot said, straightening itself up.  
  
"The memories seem so real," Penny said, then she looked down toward the right looking back at her memories.  
  
"Return to the Jupiter 2, Penny Robinson," The Robot said. "I will be seeking danger."  
  
"Robot? Robot!" Penny said, watching the Robot wheel away then turned toward the Jupiter 2 and ran back toward the super spaceship. 

* * *

The Robot is transported inside a dark spaceship that is bigger by the inside.  As though a highly advanced quantum generator was being used in the room. It's sensors indicated the spaceship in the shape of a hand was small and cramped not spacious. The Robot wheeled its way through the scenery until it came to a strange humanoid. The Robot scanned him detecting a unique change in him. His appearance indicated he was human, his mind by his scanners indicated that he was very much a suffering human, and yet, the readings from his back indicated otherwise. As though the individual wasn't human.  It did not compute to the Robot. 

The man turned in the direction of the Robot holding a wrench surrounded by pieces of wiring, mother boards, and screws. The man gave a tired smile in return. This had to be the Doctor Smith that was prowling around and causing terror for the Robinsons. The tired individual seemed to be non-threatening even its sensors detected being fed up with what was going on. Smith stood up then came over to the Robot and took off the energy pack. Then, it it was back outside of the spaceship in the mountain scenery. The Robot scanned once more this time detecting John and Penny coming after him side by side. There was new information up in its tapes. They ran up ahead with two cats following along behind them, mewing loudly. The Robot registered the mews that didn't sound like a typical mew from a Earthling feline.

"Robot!" John said, coming to the side of the Robot. "What happened?"

"You have been gone for hours," Penny said.

The Robot's head bobbed up.

"My tapes have been repaired," The Robot said. "Professor Robinson, I am missing significant information starting from the retrieval of Will Robinson."

"You mean to say that information has been purposely deleted," John said.

"Affirmative," The Robot replied, as its head bobbed down.

"And the cats," John said.

"The cats are not cats," The Robot said.

"Then what are they?" John asked.

"According to new information that has come to light, they are evil overlords of the planet Delstus," The Robot said, as Penny came closer to it. "They are relatives of the Earthling felines and split off during the cats self-domestication. They were taken by visiting aliens during a abduction, they were experimented on, then took over in a dictatorship and became powerful. In a matter of speaking, they are Delstustians."

John looked over toward the innocent fat cats staring back at him with their big, curious eyes then toward the Robot.

"Why my family?" John asked. "They can tamper with their peoples liking."

"You make them have fun," The Robot said. "Their ways have become boring."

"Having fun doesn't mean the other person has to be miserable when being toyed with," Penny said. "It is not right."

"It is inhumane," John said.

"That is torture," The Robot agreed.

"So you stop it right now," Penny said, her attention on the cats. "Cats are made to be loved and cherished not hated and neglected." Penny knelt down to the cats.

"Penny," John said. "You should step aside."

"Not until they understand rights are to be respected," Penny said. "We aren't lab rats. We are just like you only taller and with fingers." Penny held out her hands then lowered them down. "You get to learn, grow, and age quickly than we do." Penny paused, looking back with a fond smile. "All the while making the universe a brighter place all within twenty years. You get to make many influences on things bigger than you. Now, you're just wasting it using all your time to make people sad."

John looked down toward the cats who were staring right back at him when they vanished before his eyes.

"They're gone," John said. "I wonder where they could have gone."

Penny looked around.

"And so is their ship," Penny grew concerned as she looked off at the remarkably absent landing area. "Where is Doctor Smith?"

"He must be wilting somewhere around here," John said. "That I am certain of. We'll search for him when it is first light out."

* * *

Don was annoyed, needless to say. It was getting light out and Will decided to tag along. He didn't know how Will had known when he would go out to search for Smith. A part of Don was taken back at how they were allowing a superman to stay with them. Smith was not human, that was certain. His eyes glanced down toward the footprints of the last site that he had been. He looked up to see a familiar beagle poking its head out of the rock. Don took a turn. Beagles must be very good alarm dogs for aliens out there and very good companions. Just that Smith being quite the companion was beyond him. Will was resting beside Don looking over.

"I wonder why their memory alterations hasn't gone away," Will said, out loud.

"The human brain is a very tricky part of the body, Will," Don said.

"Is this . . ." Will said. "permanent?"

"Doesn't seem to be permanent over the Robot," Don said. "According to him, the cats images were just transplanted onto his tapes," he looked over toward Will. "It _could be_ permanent."

"It should go away," Will said. "Whenever I close my eyes. . . " he closed his eyes. "I hear the old cat trying to say something."

"Like what?" Don asked, as Will's eyes opened.

"Something insignificant," Will said. "but it feels important to me. . . and I can't reach it. It's like I can draw the curtain that distorts voices to hear them clearly except I can't." Will sighed, looking down toward his hands then back toward Don. "Do you feel that way?"

"They don't really have meaning to me," Don said. "It's just distorted radio chatter when it comes to that old cat." he made the talking gesture with this hand. "Meaningless chatter."

Don looked over then took a different path.

"I feel like I have done this before," Will said. 

"You have," Don said.

"Gone in circles," Will said. "I think not."

"We're not going in circles," Don replied.

"I feel like I have gone this way before," Will said, his mind reeling back to the black and white memory. 

The cat loudly mewing with a unique voice that sent shivers down his skin. It was the sound of a cat that was attempting to speak like a human. The cat sounded scared. The sharp, pinching pain feeling of fingers digging into his skin, terrified, stood out. As though there was a human with him in that memory rather than a cat. He could compare the pinching to a cats claws. Don gently placed a hand onto the boy's shoulder.

"You don't have to go with me," Don said.

"I am going to one day be part of the search teams," Will said. "So shouldn't I get some experience before hand?"

"One day," Don said. "That day can't come any sooner."

"We won't have time for that one of these days," Will said. "You won't."

"I know," Don said. "Asking her after this?  Out of the question, we have every reason to doubt our memory."

"Yes, we do," Will said.

"I will ask her when all that memory alterations over with," Don said. "But not anytime soon."

"You should ask her before she asks you," Will said.

"I like where we are at right now," Don lied, looking over toward Will.

"I understand," Will said, as Don turned his attention away. "I think. .  ." he looked at him. "Actually. . . that sounds like a _lie_ coming from someone who waited for Judy to ask him out." Don had a fond smile at the memory.

"I was going to ask her before the cat died," Don said.

"Oh," Will said.  Will looked toward Don then shared a brief nod.

Don turned attention up toward the sky where smoke was drifting in the sky. Don was the first to stand up then go after the direction that the smoke was coming from. Will tagged along holding onto his light weight laser pistol that was aimed at the ground. They came to a stop in front of the reasonably large spaceship where metal was decorating the scenery. The smoke was coming off the spaceship. Don kept Will aside from behind the rock holding a hand out to wait. Don came forward, observing several fatalities from the unexpected explosion. Their attention was caught by the loud, pained cries of a cat. The two came over to the motionless cat then noticed it was a white cat with a brown face. It stood out notably as was larger than most of the cats around the scenery. It reminded Don of a  Earthling birman, a cat breed, from Earth. The cat's eyes struggled to open. There was a long scar that had a single nerve that stood out oozing blue contrasting the white fur. Don stopped Will from touching the injuries, giving the no gesture, looking down upon the cat. Will lowered his head down seemingly crying.

The cat unexpectedly raised his head up Will.

"You. . ." Smith's bright blue cat eyes opened.  "You look like you have personally shot old yeller, dear boy."

His eyes painfully closed as Don and Will shared shocked looks. Will blinked staring at the talking cat. Don looked over toward the remains of the other cats. Some of them were alive and some of them were not alive. Don noticed that the alien cat was further away than the rest of the others then returned his attention on the cat. Smith's tail was gently rolling up and down against the dirt.

"How . . ." Will said, noticing the differences in Smith's cat physiology that were small and subtle. "You can't have survived _that_."

"Ow," Smith replied. "apparently I have. How tragic."

"What did you do, Smith?" Don asked.

"I did nothing," Smith replied.

"Why would someone turn you into a cat of all creatures," Don said. "--Your--" he faked a cough, "-grip--" he faked another cough. "is too strong."

Smith's eyes became wide as he raised his head up with a hiss at Don.

"How dare you slander my name that way, you uncoordinated pompous hawk!" A smile grew on Will's face at the familiar insult.

"Lay out the truth," Don said.

"Fine," Smith relented. "I poked around while they were having fun, get held in a cell, and turned into this monstrosity. They could have treated me as a actual prisoner.  A simple bed, razor, and toilet would have sufficed -- I could have done without a sink -- but nooo they decided to keep me in a booth." Smith weakly batted his paw up.  "A narrow, thin booth where I could not sit down. Oooohh, the pain. The paain."

Smith lowered his head onto the piece of metal repeating the word 'pain' over and over to himself.

"And you had just been turned into a cat when the ship exploded," Will said.

"Oooh," Smith whined, rolling his large eyes. "That was _before_."

"I can get used to this," Will said.

"So can I," Don agreed.

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," Smith replied. "This may not be a permanent state of being."

"Oooh, so this means you get to become human," Don grew a wide grin.  "naked."

"Now, see here!" Smith waved his paw at the taller human, rolling over toward Don with claws out slashing at him in the mist of pain. "It will never ever happen that way!"

"So you do admit it could happen that way?" Don asked. "You're going to have . . ." Don covered Will's ears. "A cat dick."

"I am going to kill you," Smith hissed.

"A cat dick for the rest of your life," Don said.

"This is by far the worst image you can make me see, _Major_ ," Smith said, as Don uncovered Will's ears.

"Give me your worse mental image," Don said.

"Double orgy with purple humanoids that have eight tentacles," Smith said. "Uncomfortable but effective."

"Orgy?" Don's face twisted as the question came from Will.

" _Smith_!" Don said, in a chastising tone.

"You challenged me," Smith said. "What did you expect?"

"Something else than that," Don said.

A delighted, loud purr came from Smith as his bright blue eyes closed.

"Your mind is too bright and optimistic for the imagery I have in mind,"  Smith said, then laid his head back down onto the metal with a pained groan.

It felt like there were a hundred eyes on them.

"Don't move," Don said.

Don looked up as the sound of cat like hissing came from across. 

"Leave me," Smith plead. "Let them finish whoever started this insidious explosion."

"You are out of your mind thinking I would leave you behind," Don said, aiming the laser pistol in the direction of the approaching cats. "Will, pick him up."

"You will most certainly no--" Smith yelped in pain as Will abruptly picked his heavy body up.

Smith's cat body wrecked in pain.

"Run!" Don said.

The two fled on foot as Smith's extended claws were flying. Don fired his laser pistol at the running cats. The small group made it to the Jupiter 2. The Robot's head bobbed up then made its usual announcement, "Danger! Danger!" Will ran on to the bridge of the Jupiter 2 with Don close behind him. Don closed the air lock behind him then had the laser pistol aimed at the window. The Robot sent a powerful jolt after the cats sending them flying back and landing on to the ground. Will placed the agonized cat on to the top of the primary navigation computer. Smith was out cold with eyes squeezed shut. The cats retreated into the receding darkness. Don lowered the laser pistol placing it back inside the belt. Don turned away from the door to face Will gently trying to shake awake Smith.

"I wouldn't touch that nerve," Don said.

Will turned in the direction of Don then nodded.

* * *

"I am not the enemy, Professor," Smith replied.

"Then why are you the only one who remembers?" John asked, making Smith pause looking for a answer.

"I tossed the aliens out of my room," Smith said.

"You made them angry rather than be entertained," John said.

"My fault," Smith said. "It must be it."

"Can it be undone?" John asked.

"I did not major in intergalactic engineering," Smith replied, as Don and the Robot came onto the bridge.

"On humans, Smith!" John said.

"I don't know!" Smith replied. "I am not a neurologist. Psychology and neurology are two different subjects that deal with the human brain. One deals with the mind and the other deals with nerves." Smith looked over toward Don then sighed in relief. "Ah, Major."

"The Robot scanned my brain while I was recalling a memory," Don started. Tell them what you told me."

"My sensors indicate it can be reversed the same way it was done," The Robot said.

"My heroes," Smith said, his long white tail flickering from side to side.

"So it can be undone," John said.

"Affirmative," The Robot said.  "You must be warned, though, you may not want the actual memories to come back."

"Why?" Don asked, looking up toward the Robot.

The Robot's head whirred toward Smith then back toward John.

"If I had the chance, I wouldn't want to remember this," The Robot synthesized John's voice.

And somehow, Smith knew what the Robot was referring to without asking for context.

The tone in the synthesized voice was full of sadness unlike the very rich, eternally optimistic tone that he heard from John prior. It could only mean that John was referring to his counterpart. John and Don exchanged curious looks with each other. John shook his head turning his glance back toward the Robot. Smith had pain in his rib cage that was bothersome. Most likely a product of being thrown forcefully out of the space ship. His left side hour less than the feeling in his spine. There were sharp jolts of pain that erupted between seconds while laid on the glass dome was distracting.

"I am pretty sure I wasn't being literal," John said. "I might have been speaking out of sarcasm."

"My sensors did not detect any deception," The  Robot said.

"Robot, when we grieve. . . sometimes we say things that we don't mean," Don said.

"Even in fights?" The Robot asked.

"Yes," Don said. "We taught you that a long time ago."

"That information is not on my tapes," The Robot said. "It appears that some information has been permanently deleted."

"As well as the information from retrieving Will," John said.

"Negative," The Robot replied, startling the two men.

"You said earlier that information was deleted," Don said.

"I mixed it up with my new tapes," The Robot said.

"What new tapes?" John asked, growing concerned.

"I am as surprised as you are," The Robot said. "And confused."

"I didn't think you had the room for that," Don said.

"As did I," The Robot agreed.

"Let's go," John said, returning with two laser pistols. "Robot, if they run out of juice, then it's on you."

"Affirmative," Robot said. "I will do my best."

Don and John walked out of the Jupiter 2 Moments later, Penny and Will returned into the Jupiter 2 taking in a table with them. They set it down across from the navigation station then resumed playing. Smith struggled to get up struck by a flash of pain that made him flinch. The cosmic card game went on as Smith struggled to get up on his four feet. Smith flopped off the console landing to the floor. A hand gently picked up the unconscious cat then placed it onto the bridge console. Smith was loudly purring, his front legs curling under his chest as did his back legs. Smith steadied his breathing watching the two children playing their game. He noticed Penny had her hair braided up left on her shoulder making her seem older than what she was.

* * *

The two men returned to the scene of the crime for the second time since the cats arrival. What scrap metal there had been were gone. The only thing left was the shell of a spaceship with a new built in staircase. Don and John exchanged a glance then climbed up. The top tip of the spaceship was no more, it was just a rounded and very uneven opening. John stumbled in unexpectedly after tripping over a step. They stopped falling coming down to a landing on the flat floor. Their laser pistols clatted to the floor then vanished before their eyes.

John looked up to see there was a large opening.

The two walked on looking for the cats.

"Hello?" Don called. "Anyone there?"

"We come in peace," John said.

There was strangely not a cat in sight.

"And we want our original memories back," Don said.

"Preferably, we come down to a peaceful solution," John said. "I am sure you don't want to lose another of your own."

"Neither do we," Don added.

John was the first to come down to a stop and Don stopped once he heard the sounds of growling.

Painful, agonizing growling from across.

The dark room lit up to reveal several cats gathered around a console with a large scene above it. There were small crystals dotting the panel that ranged in color and size. On the large screen appeared the Jupiter 2, Judy and Maureen were standing guard while the force field generator's field could be seen in a thin layer of blue film that cackled. John was horrified. The screen focused on Maureen for a moment then on to Judy.

"I have a idea," John said. "a trade."

* * *

It was morning, again, and Maureen was making breakfast.  
  
Everything seemed to be calm and not in panic as it used to be.  
  
Maureen was humming to herself a lovely melody.  
  
Don seemed to be struggling to remember something.

Will was sitting politely across from Don. John was laughing, loudly, and whole heartedly as were the other members of the family. A cat wandered out of the Jupiter 2 attracted by the loud, booming humans then sat down looking at them. This was something that he hardly ever saw with the other Robinsons. Radiating, happily in the morning. Most mornings started in the galley in space or outside at a table in front of the Jupiter 2 (which was rarely); the siblings arguing about a matter, Don and John making plans, Maureen and Judy discussing about a whole different matter and the Robot being the Robot.  And well, him just eating what was necessary and handing off what he didn't want to Blarp. The differences were stark. The only times where laughter had come from breakfast were lone snickers from Don when it came to him. The Robot was standing guard across from the forcefield generator. It was like looking at a bright, altered copy of the Robinsons that he once knew.

It became apparent to Smith that these were the genuine, real article.

A perfect variation of the family that were happy that wasn't dark and gritty.

Sometimes making a copy of something else made large differences that stood out.

The original would always stand out on its own two feet and always be more likeable over the copies.

It appeared to be true with the Robinsons.

The two universes weren't just different because one was dark and gritty or bright and hopeful. Nor was it along the lines of one being good and the other being bad. How he and the Robot were the only ones who seemed to retain the littlest of their character was beyond him. Will's hand had taken a part in making the Robot's personality in his universe. And yet, after all that, the Robot was itself. Perfection can never be had in copies and what little of perfection that was in it had to be appreciated as its own. The Smith of this universe deserved to be here not him. Maureen came over to Smith then placed her hand onto his back.

"Hello there, are you lost?" Her finger nails applied pressure to Smith's long blue nerve.

The hair on Smith's back rose.

"Ow," Smith said.

Maureen looked over then shrugged.

"Ow," Smith said.

Maureen looked in to the Jupiter 2.

"Smith?"  Maureen called.

Smith flinched.

"Madame, I am afraid your finger is applying pressure to my previous nerve," Smith's voice came from her arms.

Maureen didn't scream or drop him as he expected her but instead, did the oppossite.

"Oh," Maureen said, softening her voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you turned into a cat."

Maureen gently lowered him down the floor then walked down the platform.

"You look nothing like the picture," Don said, jokingly. "You are a very mistaken man."

Smith ran up toward the seat then sat down down alongside it.

"I am clearly not mistaken as you are when I have been a cat since yesterday," Smith said.

"No?" Don said. "You were invincible."

"What do you mean?" Smith asked, as John took another bite from the eggs. "You all clearly saw me as a cat before."

"I don't think so," Will said. "I would have remembered that."

"So would I," Judy said.

"Did I ask questions about how its like to be a cat?" Penny asked.

"No, yes, actually," Smith said. "No." as Don loudly laughed with his hands on his stomach.

"Befuddled Smith is the best Smith," Don said, inbetween his laughter.

"Enjoy it," Smith said. "One day you might be turned into a cat, Major, and it won't be pleasant."

"And you angered those cats so they turned you into one of them," John said.

"Indeed, indeed," Smith said. "Well, it's funny how you can anger them. . . It's temporary," Smith's head was held above the table. "As you told me last night, it'll last a few days and the return to being human is going to be slow."

"I don't recall," John said.

"It's probably best that we don't," Maureen said, looking over toward John as she seated herself down.

"Well,  I can't eat this since I am a cat," Smith said. "Scrambled eggs. . . Looks like I'll have to find my own meal."

"I hardly believe there is space mice out there," Don said, wiping off a tear.

"Fight me," Smith said, with his claws out holding his paw out with a mean glare.

"I get it, I get it," Don said. "You hunted some mice before you went to sleep."

"Unbecoming of Zachary Smith, a savage, a animal," Smith said. "Just what I had coming."

"I retain data regarding the events of last night," The Robot announced, coming toward the table.  
  
Everyone looked toward the Robot.  
  
"Well, what happened?" John asked.  
  
"A trade," The Robot replied.  
  
"What kind of trade?" Don asked.  
  
"A trade of valuable goods," The Robot said. "What they were, I do not know."  
  
"Why?" John asked.  
  
"You deleted the information," The Robot said.  
  
"Don't look at me," Smith said, as all eyes went on him. "I was licking myself in the kitchen."

"And Doctor Smith, that description you have is a barbarian not a animal," The Robot said.

"You just enjoy pointing out my errors, you metal slimy Neanderthal," Smith said, sharply.

"That I do," The Robot said, then wheeled away as the Robinsons had a bemused laugh and Smith jumped off the seat.

"What happened to Smith's cat friends?" Maureen asked.

The Robot turned back.

"They left," The Robot said, ominously.

* * *

Penny wandered off with the Robot to find Smith.  Will was tending to the hydroponic garden as this morning was his turn. She saw the cat laid on a long flat rock on his side. Smith was loudly purring. She was afraid to approach him in the fear that she will wake him up from his contentful moment. Smith raised his furry head up and his blue eyes opened. His tail flickered from side to side. 

"Penny, I like to answer your questions," Smith said.

"But you said I didn't ask questions," Penny said. 

"You did but not about my appearance. . . Mostly as a participant of a game that we played," Smith elaborated. "I must uphold my part."

"Well, that wouldn't be fair if I didn't know what I was getting answers for," Penny said.

"I normally give answers while mentioning the questions," Smith said, as she approached him. "You may want to sit down." 

Penny sat down onto a boulder.

"Danger, danger!" The Robot flailed it's arms. "Danger!"

"Get that power pack off that unsettling metal behemoth!" Smith shouted. "It's hurting my ears."

Penny yanked the energy pack off then sat down onto the boulder.

"Ah, better," Smith said.

"Just how many questions did I ask?" Penny asked, concerned.

"A lot, dear Penny," Smith replied. "A lot."

"I am ready," Penny said. 

"Expelliarmus is a removal spell from the novel series Harry Potter," Smith started. "Birds caw, and yes, birds do speak. Though we try to seek meaning in those that can talk when they are really being a little turd. And no, there is no meaning in bar codes but to scanners, they do. For example, there's a cat video that can be picked up when scanning a very old bar code on the tiles. And the answer to the universe is 42, life and death. And that was a absurd question about space seahorses. . ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited it the day after posting the chapter after I saw that I made a error about Penny's questions. I retcon so hard I have to edit goddamn it. I threw my hands up last night and went 'screw it'. I hope you still are able to enjoy this chapter, anyone who rereads this! :D


	23. Chapter 23

"How old are you in Earth years?" Smith asked, as he strolled through the mountain like scenery alongside Will.

"Thirteen," Will replied.

"And what about human years?" Smith asked.

"Thirteen," Will said, as Smith turned his attention off.

"Hm, interesting," Smith replied.

"What?" Will asked. "What do you mean by interesting?"

"What if I told you. . ." Smith started. He contemplated how to better lay it down for him in the best way he could. Would he see it as silly and unnecessary? Probably. Smith tapped his fingers together in quiet consideration with the pain in the back of his mind. "that there was a wide spread genetic meddling back in my version of the nineteen-nineties that applied to the entire population of Earth and slowed down aging as a result of it to become more accustomed to the drastically changing environment of Earth?"

"I would believe it," Will said, then looked at him curiously. "How old are you in Earth years?"

"One hundred-eight," Smith said, earning big eyes from Will. "Human years, thirty-eight."

"Wow," Will said. "So you're actually a space version of human."

 _More alien than space_ , Smith corrected to himself as he looked over toward the boy.

"Compared to me, you are the original version of a human," Smith said.

"Everyone can be a human," Will said.

"Being human is not for everyone," Smith said. "Your Earth didn't have global warming . . . That can make a man go green."

"We learned it faster that we had to treat our planet more kindly," Will said. "A long time ago." He looked at the man. "I thought people in their thirties started getting grayed hair."

"That happens in my late forties," Smith said, then walked on ahead of Will.

The Robot came to Will's side.

"He looks human for being genetically altered," The Robot said.

"His universe is too gritty," Will said. "How old must I be over in the other?"

"Less than one hundred," The Robot said.

They heard Smith's screams come from the distance. They came to a stop when they saw what he was screaming at. He wasn't screaming out of terror but out of joy. It was a large, slick and colorful mall. Smith ran forward grabbing onto a cart from along the support beams then yanked it out.

"I know what I am shopping for," Smith said.

"And what is?" The Robot asked

"Make up," Smith said, rolling the cart toward the doors. "Make up, my dear in-the-dumps typewriter."

"I am not your sidekick!" The Robot's head bolted up as it wheeled after Smith. "And that was only once."

"I don't know about this," Will said. "I'm getting the others."

Will ran off leaving the two bickering colleagues strolling in the mall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Corrected Will's age as I was reviewing the story in my mind at three and remembered where season 3 of LIS left Will off. Canonically, in season 2, Don acknowleged Will was twelve so that will mean in season 3 that Will is thirteen. My bad.


	24. Chapter 24

"I don't know about this mall, Don,"  John said, once approaching the mall with Don. "We have enough supplies as it is from the last space station."

"To think that he needs make up of all things," Don said. "Not surprised with those bags. He couldn't sleep last night so while I had night shift, we talked about Earth. Comparing and contrasting them," he looked up toward the three distant moons in the distance. "I can't get the image of New York City submerged underwater after winter out of my head."

"I take it is disturbing," John said

"No,  more alien than human," Don said. "Fifty-eight years into the two thousands. . ." Don rubbed his hands together. "Incredible." Don let the comment hang looking back. "The city submerged in the dead of winter. . . a beautiful image."

"Really?" John said. "Tell me about it."

"Window ledges covered in snow below the frosted glass," Don began. "Layers of ice covering the buildings, snow that glitters brightly in the morning, and the statue of liberty is halfway visible from the snow. Shipwrecks once lost are all over the beach. It's kind of beautiful in a twisted kind of way."

"I believe you," John said, as the doors opened before them.

The Robot was wheeling toward them with a cart full of bags.

"GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING TO STAY UP LATE!" The Robot sang.

"Robot," John said, as the Robot came to a stop with the cart. "Where is Smith?"

"He passed out on a needle bed," The Robot said.

"Let him sleep," Don said. "I am sure that spiky bed isn't drawing blood."

"He was laid on his side when he collapsed," The Robot said. "There was no blood."

"All the more reason not to wake him up," John said.

The Robot gestured toward the blue bags.

"Doctor Smith has acquired make up that you previously could not afford," Don picked up a case of eyeliner from the bag and observed it. "He made sure to purchase enough to last the women for a very long time." The Robot gestured up to the first rack that held several pink bags. "These are Doctor Smith's facial make up."

"Covering up the baggy eyes," Don said. 

"What did you use to purchase?" John asked.

"They are free," The Robot said.

"All of them?" Don asked.

"They are exclusive for first time customers," The Robot said. "This is a one time binge."

"And I suppose binge is another word from the future," Don said.

"It has been explained as that way," The Robot said. "It is pertinent I bring them to the Jupiter 2 and quickly."

"Go on," John said. "Don't want to make you late."

"Affirmative," The Robot said, then wheeled on past the two men.

Don and John observed the mall that had several stops decorating it. It seemed to be high tech and sleek compared to their Jupiter 2 with the floating bars, hovering chairs below them that was waiting to be seated, and several stations that were occupied by strange robotic beings. There were clothes that hung on the wall. Don looked up in shock seeing a large great white being transported in a glass container above his head up toward a aquarium in the circular, layered ceiling that had different floors that had barriers held up. Don followed John.

"This is a strange shopping mall," Don remarked.

"It seems harmless," John said. "Compared to space stations, this seems to be state of the art for space."

"I don't like space state of the art," Don said. "It gives me the goose bumps." he shuddered.

"Me, too, me too," John agreed.

"What's next?" Don asked. "Robots attempting to replace us? _Again_."

"Hardly," John said. "They find it difficult to replicate your nature."

"What can I say?" Don asked, with a shrug. "I can't be exactly copied."

A unusual short man watched the passing men with a intrigued look while in a bright blue suit and a hat that had a yellow feather sticking out around a black band. Suspicious music played as the figure vanished in the blink of a eye. Don looked over his shoulder feeling eyes were on him. He looked up to see large, bulky cameras on the walls near to the corners. They were not as bulky as the security cameras on Earth but  more mobile and smaller and white rather than a bright shade of yellow. Don turned his attention away keeping up with John.

* * *

Will checked on Smith five hours later after being escorted by the Robot. Smith was relaxed and snoring, dreaming of nothingness, in the comfortable cool room. The Robot stood in front of the boy acting as a shield. The Robot softly announced, "Danger, Will Robinson, danger," earning a head turn from Will. The strange figure from earlier approached them twirling a long rocking stick with a golden handle that had the shape of a eagle. The Robot  cackled a blue surge of energy.

"What is that for?" the stranger asked.

"Lower your voice," The Robot requested. "Or I will be forced to neutralize you."

"My name is Cackler and I am the manager of this store," Cackler said in a lowered voice. "You can get discounts if you recommend your family here."

"Sorry," Will said. "we got all we need on the Jupiter 2."

"Ah," Cackler said. "So you are that family," he glanced off toward Smith.  "So the rumors are true about Doctor Smith." Cackler turned his attention on to the group as the Robot's arms went inside the sockets.

"Yes," Will said. "Unfortunately."

"Where did you come across the fountain of youth?" Cackler asked.

"The fountain of youth. . ." Will stared back at Cackler.

"Doctor Smith fell into a fountain while you and the Robot were nearby,  Smith didn't show up, the two of you left him behind and when he came up to the surface, you weren't there," Cackler said. "From what I heard, you were reunited with him.  At first, you didn't recognize him. As did the Robot who ended up electrocuting him."

"I remember that," The Robot's head bobbed up. "The Robinsons resumed searching for Alpha Centauri after accepting his new change."

"During this travel, you came across a large space ship and boarded it," Cackler continued. "Now, no one has been able to find this vessel."

"It was destroyed by Admiral Lellis," The Robot said. "Doctor Smith was taken along into the vessel on the belief---"

"That it could be undone because he wanted to be old again," Cackler finished. "Instead your friend was bitten by a bug."

"A mistake on Doctor Smith's part," The Robot said. "He does not complain as much."

"Not to say we miss it," Will played along.

"We do miss it," The Robot agreed.

"Professor Robinson checked his DNA. It turned out his DNA was changing from Earthling to something else," Cackler continued. "Smith tested his DNA out on a space squirrel that he adopted as a pet. It mutated into a spider hybrid then launched a attack on the Robinsons."

"It was a easy fix to a mess that he created," The Robot said.

"Electrocuting it?" Cackler said. "Rumors say it was tossed in a bag to the nearest sun."

"Not true," The Robot said. "I tossed it into the nearest volcano."

"I heard it was a mess to get rid of the hair and treating their cuts properly unlike the doctor had to his cut," Cackler said. "Afterwards, Doctor Smith fled the Jupiter 2 at the next space station after leaving a letter regarding his choice. How you lost him is unbelievable since the Robot is supposed to be making sure he doesn't create trouble."

"Which is why I was in the dumps during his sudden return," The Robot said. 

Cackler looked toward the resting Earthling then back.

"Missing for a few hours got him into trouble," Cackler said. "You failed him."

The Robot wheeled forward.

"Robot," Will said, softly, standing in the way between them.

"Watch it," The Robot said. "He was mentally incompetent. He did not know what he was doing."

"Like you are for being  his guardian," Cackler said. "You are insane."

"It is better than being sane," The Robot said.

"Anyway, we're just here to check on him," Will said.

"Not going to buy anything?"  Cackler asked, his face becoming long.

"Like I said, we have everything we need," Will said.

"Everything," Cackler said, then turned his gaze toward the Robot. "Really now?"

"Sure as can be," Will said.

Cackler's eyes tore off the Robot resting on to the boy.

"I will be waiting," Cackler said, then pressed a button and vanished before their eyes.

Will turned in the direction of the Robot.

"I have a bad feeling about Cackler," Will said, as the Robot wheeled away from Will pushing the spiky bed along. "Robot!" Will softly called as he jogged after the fast paced Robot. "We have to pay for that."

"I did not pick the make up, Will Robinson," The Robot said, his head whirring toward Will.

"Not sure if Robots can buy around here," Will said.

"I have been given a ID card from the Intergalactic Federal Office of Identification," The Robot took out a long, small blue card that was wedged between its tires. "I am certain that I can." The Robot put the card back into the wires where it blended in vanishing out of line of sight.

They came toward a check out section. It was a empty line that had a see through console where a Robot was hovering behind. A robot with womanly features sat behind the counter almost seemingly a blocky three piece Robot. Will looked over toward the cashier then whistled in sheer amazement. The other Robot's yellow eyes glowed at the sight of the two then scanned them. The Robot slid forward the card onto the table. They watched it be scanned under a thin, transparent red light. The gray, pink, and white head shifted from side to side then came to a pause scanning the bar code. 

"Do you want to buy the Earthling, too?" The cashier asked.

"Affirmative," The Robot said.

The cashier extended a long arm then stamped a bar on the side of Smith's neck and its arm went back into the side.

"Is that necessary?" Will asked, concerned.

"It is part of the rules," The cashier said. The bar code was scanned in a red light then withdrawn and placed back into the side of the cashier's waist. "Have a good day."

"We will," The Robot said, reaching his other claw out grabbing Will by the hand then wheeled out of the line with Will being dragged away. 

Cackler appeared alongside the cashier watching the doors slide open before the two.

"Now that is a product I can sell," Cackler said, and vanished from view.

"I wonder how long he is going to keep this," Will said.

"Not long," The Robot replied. "He will be back sleeping on the floor."

"Back sleeping on the floor?" Will repeated, raising his eyebrows.

"I should not talk about it," The Robot said.

"You don't have to," Will said. "But. . . I don't think that's a good place to sleep."

"He sleeps on the floor rather than the bed," The Robot said. "No pillow, no cushioning, just a blanket on a warm and hard floor. He still has the nightmares."

Will grew a concerned look.

"How long has he been doing this?" Will asked.

"I would say a month but the way he is comfortable with the routine says otherwise," the Robot said, then whirred his head toward Will.

It had been a eventful month with Smith. The month had been hysterical and dark at the same time with the shady, strange characters who popped up on the planet. Sometimes daily rather than weekly. Smith was caught off guard when it came to space cats, space werewolves, space penguin lovers, and space lions adorers to name a few. The Robot believed that Smith was beginning to see the silliest things were threatening. Even cute, little dogs that had monsters do its bidding. And last of all, the situations Smith had landed in at the end made the family laugh. John had a set schedule of when they could leave the planet based off the amount of Duetronium was being refined and that was less than six months. Will was contemplating looking toward the ground. Will looked up toward the Robot as a thought occurred to him.

"It seems to me that you have to do something about it as his court appointed guardian," Will said.

"I find it most the difficult interfering with his life," The Robot said.

"For the people you care about. . ." Will said.  "you have to make tough choices you don't like for their well being."

"I will not enjoy it," The  Robot said. "But if it has to be done. . . then you do it."

"Unlike this?" Will asked.

"Legally, someone has to purchase him," The Robot said, earning a bemused head shake from Will.

* * *

The Robot closed the door to Smith's quarters. Judy opened the door slightly to see Smith was laid on his other side, snoring away. The tips of the spike bed had purple points and seemed not to be digging into the man's skin. She didn't see the reclinable bed was down but that it was in fact up. Smith was laid on the spiky bed covered by his blanket. She closed the door with a shake of her head then turned to where the Robot had been. Only to find that it was gone. Vanished completely into thin air before her eyes. Judy shrugged then walked away.

The Robot reappeared in the mall.

His head bobbed up in alarm.

His sensors detected that there was danger.

"Like the exhibit, Robot?" Cackler said, coming from behind him.

The Robot's head whirred toward the man.

"I will be taking my leave," The Robot said, wheeling away.

"Do that and anyone around the bought goods will die," Cackler said, listening to the sounds of the Robot stopping.

"You are bluffing," The Robot said.

"Want to risk losing your family?" Cackler asked.

"Killing customers is bad publicity," The Robot said. "You would never do it."

"You don't know me that well," Cackler said. "You can fetch me a lot of money."

"And this building will be burned to the ground," The Robot said. 

"And you with it," Cackler said.

"Negative," The Robot said. "I am vital to their survival. They would never let me go."

"How are you so sure about that?" Cackler asked. "you are replace-able after all."

"Very certain," The Robot said. "Excuse me, I am needed."

The Robot resumed wheeling away from Cackler.

"Love to see you try," Cackler said, leaning against the counter cupping the side of his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally supposed to be long and was in the process of being written to be long when I hit writers block so I decided to come back for the sole purpose of making a story arch. You'll find out in the next chapter exactly why and then it will make complete sense why I have been away from this story for so long.


	25. Chapter 25

Don opened the door to Smith's room.  
  
When he poked in, he saw the man was shirtless and his shirts were left on the floor while he laid on his side snoring away.  
  
Most of the blue blob section had been healed over with what seemed to be scales growing on his back that were spreading from where they had been earlier.  It was a disturbing sight to be allowed to be seen when it came to someone like him. The scales were light gray for the time being. He slowly closed the door then turned around shaking his head. If Smith's story was true regarding the chain of events that lead him to this fate, could this have happened to their Smith in the beginning? Had they been on a spaceship infested by alien spiders? This was a question that he found himself asking, often. It's not like they forced Smith to come along on to the derelict spaceship as they were all trapped on it and still as dangerous as space spiders.  
  
Smith had to be lying about the Professor dragging him along because Don could see himself doing that.  
  
Any version of himself could be capable of doing that.  
  
No matter how they deviated from the source material.  
  
Don made his way from the residential deck up to the bridge. He slid the railing back then came toward the chair and looked out toward the sky. It was one of those days where John and Don didn't need to go out to repair the weather station, the Deutronium drilling rig, or repair the Chariot. The mall seemed like he could reasonably get a discount on it. He wondered how much to get some much needed parts for the Robot would cost. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed that he could get it. First time discounts were hard to come by. Lower prices, better way of getting replacement parts.  
  
There was a sudden loud sound from below decks rocked the Jupiter in a way that alarmed Don. It was a one second that brought a wave of heaviness in the air. Members of the Robinsons entered the bridge visibly shaken and alarmed. Don jumped to his feet then went down through the ladder to the lower decks. There was smoke coming from Judy's quarters so he slid the door open to see the young woman's quarters were covered in smoke. Judy was laid on her side with pieces of her sleeves in tatters followed along by a facial burn on her face. Her hands were covered in burns. He looked over to find the bag of make up was on the table drifting with smoke and the table was scorched.  
  
There was no words that Don could say when he heard the sounds of footsteps coming to his side and everyone was frozen where they stood reeling back in shock. The pilot turned to see Smith with the side of his face curved in a burn trailing down his neck then to his shoulders and to his arms that were black reaching over toward his chest with pieces of the skin appearing to be peeling away and some of it was just dangling partially off. He was missing his left nipple at that. There were blue highlights on parts of the burn below the more human appearance to it slowly being swallowed whole by a alien mutation. Half of his hair was missing giving Smith a half way done buzz cut that was steaming with fire. Smith combed the burned section of his head asphyxiating the flames. Smith turned in the direction of the door then gave a horrified shriek and the tired aesthetic was gone in a moments notice. His eyes absorbed in the little details of the injury then looked up in the direction of the professor.  
  
"Do you have any wool blankets?" Smith asked.  
  
"In the storage," Don said.  
  
"Get it," Smith said. "Quickly. It will be very necessary to calm her."  
  
Don reluctantly let go of the woman then made his way toward the door that lead toward the power core as Smith instructed the other members of the family. He opened both doors then closed them behind him and made it into the closet. The new boxes had been put in during one of their many visits to space stations in space. One of the boxes were labeled as 'new blankets' then he took one of them down and forced it open where he saw neatly folded blankets inside. He felt around for the warmest, yet soft blanket until his hand came to a stop. 

Don yanked the blanket out then placed the box back on top and made his way out of the supply closet. Penny's bedroom door was left open where inside was Judy crying into her father's tunic. John was trying his best to comfort the young woman and he beckoned Don in. Don placed the heavy blanket on her shoulders then he watched her relax and her crying slowly stopped like a magic spell had been done on her.  
  
Maureen and Penny came in with two buckets of water including a counter that was lifted in by Will and Don.  
  
"Judith, put your arms in the buckets," Smith said. "It will hurt but it will help you get better in the long run."  
  
"Why?" Judy asked. "Why were there explosives in the make up?" were asked between tears. "Why? Why?"  
  
There was a hard glare filled with blame coming from the older Robinsons aimed at Smith  
  
"Because some people like to hurt others when they want something," Smith said.  
  
Judy shivered, a slight cry of pain, then relaxed against John's chest.

The anger radiating off John was being tightly capped but able to be felt.

Smith left the room then returned with a medical kit and a waste bag. He observed the woman's burns then glanced over toward John and Maureen then mentally calculated how much skin would be needed to graft over the injury.

"Professor," Smith started. "Your daughter needs a skin graft for her hands."

"How much?" John asked.

"If it doesn't get rejected," Smith said. "I believe some portions of your forearms would do."

"What about her hands?" John asked.

"She will need quite a few split-thickness grafts," Smith said. "Your wife would do for some of that grafting much," Maureen looked up toward the man. "It's a matter of who will be the donor. Her wounds will need to cool down _before_ I do the skin grafting."

John and Maureen exchanged a glance.

"Please leave the room," John said. "We'll talk about it."

He walked out of the room then left closing the door behind him with a heavy sigh. Soft words of comfort were coming from the Robinsons for Judy.  Smith felt like he wanted to fall apart into a puddle of liquid and never re-emerge as a individual ever again placing a hand against his face lowering his gaze down with a emotional sigh. He had seen burns on patients and strangers that he had unfortunately crossed paths with. But this was a different kind of situation for him. It was a young woman, a victim, a person that he was somewhat familiar to being hurt.  
  
"Is Judy going to be alright?" Will asked.  
  
Smith reeled in his composure at the teenage Penny and the young Will Robinson.  
  
"She will be fine," Smith said.  
  
"What does she need to get better?" Penny said.  
  
"In ten minutes I will be required to remove the dead skin, perform a skin graft, a dressing for both her and the donor, antibiotics, some pain medications," he was standing tall with his hands clasped together. "In the long run . . ."  
  
"In the long run?" Penny asked.  
  
"I can't say if she will return to using make up after this episode," Smith replied.  
  
"So she will be okay," Don said.  
  
Smith turned toward the major then gave him a nod.  
  
"She will have to find her balance in 'fine'," Smith replied. "Now if you excuse me, I have some products to return."

Smith started to make his way toward Judy's quarters but the pilot got in the way.  
  
"No, no, no," Don said, holding his hand up. " _I_ will do that."  
  
"I bought the products so _I_ must return the scrap metal," Smith replied. "I am the responsible party."  
  
"She needs someone who can do a skin graft," Don said. "And I really think that she doesn't need to wait for it over a hour."  
  
"Hmph, like you would leave that place in one piece," Smith said, with a dismissive wave. "That is laughable."  
  
"I wouldn't leave the man in charge in one piece," Don said.  
  
"Really, Major?" Smith asked, in a way that showed his real age. "I believe the professor would want to do that."  
  
"I will retrieve what is left of the explosives in Judy's room while you can get what is left of the explosives in your cabin afterwards," Don said, then moved toward Judy's cabin.  
  
"There is nothing left of the spike bed to throw away," Smith replied. What was left of the spike bed decorated Smith's upper torso to his chest up to his back among the pitch black burns decorating his body. "I have explosive residue to clean."  
  
"That is even better," Don said, opening the door to the young woman's cabin.  
  
Smith's face faltered at the view inside and the door closed on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, this isn't the scene that got me stumped but I did have to edit it and do some more research regarding skin grafting after coming back for Smith's dialogue to the Robinsons. lol.


End file.
